


Interrupted

by CrossMyHearts



Series: Inter- [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Competitive friendship, F/M, Post-Episode The End of Time, Prophecies, Rose is kicking arse, Time Lords bickering, Time Lords working together, everyone has to figure out where they fit in, intimacy in various implementations, lots of friendship - Freeform, lots of unresolved (?) sexual tension, the Doctor is in denial (only that he isn’t), the Master is conflicted (at least about some things), whole lot of telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 85,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27399172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossMyHearts/pseuds/CrossMyHearts
Summary: “Rose couldn’t help the subtle smile. This could only go wrong either way. Leaving the Master out of sight would always be risky because … well, duh. But was keeping him here the right choice?”Sequel toIntertwined.In which the Master (maybe) gets his shit together.In which the Doctor (maybe) ignores looming prophecies once too much.And in which Rose has to accept that there is (maybe) more than one kind of intimacy…
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Master (Simm)/Rose Tyler
Series: Inter- [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002480
Comments: 180
Kudos: 120





	1. Prophecies

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I’ve FINALLY written it.
> 
> Hello dear reader, I’m happy to see you (again?) and hope you’ll enjoy the ride :)
> 
> This picks up where Intertwined left off, right after the events of The End of Time. (The Master survived The End of Time as did the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose are an item, despite the Master and Rose having a special bond. And the Master wants to join them.)
> 
> The emphasis is yet again on the Master and Rose (it is a Master/Rose fanfic at the core), but it’s still about all of them (maybe more so than before).
> 
> This is just me having fun with these three characters, hoping some people will have it too^^
> 
> I’m still not a native speaker, so I’m still sorry for all mistakes.

“What are you afraid of, seriously?” the Master asked, still in very good humour. All three of them headed into the TARDIS.

“Well, we’re questioning your motives, for once,” Rose declared and leaned herself against the console.

“Really?” he commented with dry annoyance. “You’re a ‘we’-couple?”

She only blinked annoyed back, having her arms crossed. “You almost caused the apocalypse out there,” she finally said. “For selfish reasons.”

“And I saved your _lives_ – in firm conviction that I would die,” he countered. “And seriously Doctor, I appreciate the concern, but shove your screwdriver up your arse.” He glared at the other Time Lord with the stretched-out arm.

The whistling stopped, and he let the screwdriver hesitantly sink. “Your energy levels normalize,” he stated.

“ _Yes_ ,” the blond hissed. “I noticed.”

Rose couldn’t help the subtle smile. This could only go wrong either way. Leaving the Master out of sight would always be risky because … well, duh. But was keeping him here the right choice? There were so many things that complicated matters, but – Rose kind of felt like the two Time Lords needed each other. It wasn’t the easiest way, they mostly couldn’t stand each other, but – they were the only ones left. That must do something to them.

She took a breath. “It’s not that simple,” she continued. “You do reckless stuff and don’t care if someone gets hurt.” She swallowed at the next bit. “You kill people.”

He huffed, but his tone was getting more serious. “I didn’t kill anyone since I came back.”

“You killed Tom,” she shot back.

“Apart from him,” he granted.

“Seriously?!” she called out, unknotting her arms.

“ _Tom_ would have killed you,” he argued. “He had a _gun_ to your head and was _pulling_ the trigger.”

“Did you really kill no one else?” she wanted to know. Because he had a point and so this was the only thing she wanted the truth of.

He paused but looked completely honest. “I didn’t,” he assured her intensely but rather quietly.

The Doctor joined Rose at the console with crossed arms, leaning on it as well. “Why do you want to come?” he asked softly.

“Honestly? Because I need to figure out some stuff,” he sighed. “And let’s not forget that there’s still a huge incertitude about Rose’s mind.” His eyes dropped to her. “If you still want to find out what’s happening.”

Aaaand they were getting to the more delicate stuff. It was the reasonable thing to do. She _was_ uneasy with all that was happening inside her mind because she didn’t know what it meant and if it could hurt her. Which wasn’t that far-fetched, by the way. But her answer was more unconvinced. “I guess,” she said with a small voice.

“You should do it,” the Doctor caught her attention. She looked up to him, questioning. She knew that his astonishingly reassuring face was something he had actively worked on. He wouldn’t let shine through that it bothered him, and it was exactly what she needed. “It’s about your welfare, you shouldn’t risk it.”

She pulled her lips inwardly, looking at him with a certain gratitude. She really _did_ love him. “Well, I guess,” she started again, her eyes finding the Master, “if you really _do_ want to help … I’d be glad.” Her smile was small, but honest. She couldn’t quite identify his expression. There was a ghost of a smile mingled with a know-it-all look in his eyes, but he signalled his okay with a gently hinted blink of his lids. She took a breath when she got up from the console, rubbing her hands on her jeans. “So, I’ll be off then. For a human this was a pretty exhausting day.”

She blinked tenderly to the Doctor whose corners of the mouth turned up in an equal way. She would let them have it out, whatever the Doctor had held back this whole conversation.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who had noticed. When her steps had disappeared, the Master’s mouth was forming a crooked smile. “Why, haven’t you been uncharacteristically quiet.”

“There are some ground rules,” he answered matter-of-factly. “Have to be.”

“What, kill no one?” he sighed sort of bored.

“For instance,” he confirmed.

“What else, no touching your girl?” he provoked him amused.

Jesus, he had no filter at all, had he? “Letting you walk free on the ship is an enormous amount of trust I lend you,” he simply ignored his statement. “But let me tell you … I won’t get careless.” His voice had touched darker edges without changing it overall. “I _want_ to trust you, but I won’t forget what you’ve done.” His look didn’t waver a bit. “Don’t mistake my goodwill for weakness.” It was a plea and a threat at the same time.

The Master examined him for the longest time. His grin wasn’t quite gone, but the Doctor recognized that his words actually got to him. After a while he took a breath, breaking out of his motionlessness. “Fair enough,” he said, taking a look around before he focused on him again. “Anything else?”

“Not right now,” he answered quietly.

“Great,” he overdid his smile. “I gotta shower. Has been a while and you know how you can become inured to small things like that.” He winked at him, knowing that they didn’t really need to shower that often with their biology being different and all. The Doctor watched him leave the room.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When the Doctor entered their room, Rose was already sitting on the bed above the covers in her jim-jams. She looked up from her notebook that was on her lap. “Any serious bruises?” she bantered.

He couldn’t hold back the grin. “Not yet,” he answered, walking towards the bed. “Are you really knackered?”

“I am,” she affirmed. “But I’m also chipper in a way. Haven’t really processed what happened yet.”

He nodded. “I get that.”

She sighed but smiled at him. Closing her laptop with a thud, she put it aside. “Come here,” she said softly. He loosened some of his tension and undressed his shoes before he joined her on the bed, simply slipping them off. “Are you all right?” she wanted to know, finding his hand. “And don’t say you are, ‘cause I’ll look through that ingenious charade of yours.”

She was glad she got a light chuckle out of him. They already had fierce fights about some of his avoiding techniques in the past. “I … will be,” he offered instead.

She hesitated to speak up again. “You … never really voiced your feelings about what happened.” Her voice was getting smaller and smaller. “With Gallifrey.”

“And I really don’t want to, Rose,” he said just as quietly, examining their joined hands in his lap, drawing little patterns on her skin. He couldn’t talk about it that easily. Yet. He was aware that he could talk without saying something and at the same time sometimes couldn’t open his mouth when it was needed. He _was_ working on it, though.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” she assured him. “I guess I just meant to say … I’m here. I’m always here for you.”

His face was almost sombre with a touch of a bitter smile which got less bitter when he looked at her. _Would she, though?_ His head leaned forward, and he surprised her with a sudden kiss. His hand found its way into her hair and he deepened the kiss, desperately needing to feel her, to reassure himself that she really wasn’t going anywhere.

Rose recognized his behaviour for what it was and found herself getting up and climbing on his lap. “’m here,” she breathed between kisses and he reacted by grabbing her hips and pressing them into him. She repeated the words, peppering his face with tiny pecks before they snogged the air out of their lungs again. Eventually, her hand wandered down to the zip of his pants, making him break the kiss for a second with a swallowed groan.

She wasn’t that tired anyway.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It was the next morning, the Doctor had been in the control room for some time, when the Master was trolling into the room. Something about his demeanour was testy. “What’s the matter?” the Doctor asked casually.

The Master didn’t look up but peered under the console. “Have you seen a cuppa?”

The Doctor frowned. “On the _floor_?”

“Nothing’s off-limit,” he now grinned but it wasn’t completely sincere. “The TARDIS can be a bloody bitch, you knew that?”

Now he couldn’t hold back a grin. “Aw, you two fighting?”

“I’m starting to believe she’s mad at me,” he answered, propping his hands on his sides, glancing along the room. “Can’t imagine why.”

“Well, you found different clothes, that’s something,” he commented, noticing his grey T-shirt to his black pants.

“Ha, either that or a shower,” the Master elaborated with obvious self-irony, clapping his hands once. “She actually gave me a choice there, how ‘bout that?”

“About wha’?” Rose entered the room, stretching her arm over her shoulder, in the other hand a mug.

“The TARDIS didn’t let the Master shower,” the Doctor told her gleefully, enjoying this a tad bit too much.

“What really?” she let out puzzled but admittedly amused.

“Who needs a shower,” the Master dismissed it, letting himself drop across the jump seat, legs dangling over the armrest, eying some tiny device. “Bloody human habit.”

“Well, I’m sure the Doctor can help convince …” Rose started to offer but the Master cut in.

“I can handle the TARDIS,” he countered.

She tilted her head. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

He finally eyed her. “Just you watch me.”

“Whatcha fiddling with?” she changed the subject.

“I was bored,” he stated and jumped up from the seat, walking towards her. “Here,” he handed her the device, surprising her with the sudden action, and taking her mug in the same move. “You give that to the Doctor.”

Rose froze perplexed about what just happened when she watched him return to the seat. “Ahem, _what_?” she spit out and felt the Doctor reaching for the small thing in her hand.

“The TARDIS is hiding his cuppa, so he’s stealing yours,” the Doctor explained absently, already having his specs on and inspecting the device. She only watched the Master’s grin flare alive behind the cup while he drank from it.

“This … is interesting,” the Doctor mused. “But it will completely resynchronize the primary and auxiliary autosequencers.”

“Yeah, so don’t forget to calibrate the transitory particle interceptor, or you could wind up with an unwelcome subharmonic oscillation,” the Master advised him as if they were talking English.

“Won’t it manipulate the inertial stabilizers?”

“If we irradiate the asymmetrical shift reactor before we attenuate the sonic reflection launcher, we should be fine.”

“Hm, you might be right.”

“’course, I am,” he shrugged, sipping from his (her) tea while the Doctor had turned around, assembling that piece of technology into the TARDIS …(?)

Rose blinked at the gibberish that had just transpired. Well, if they had their fun, she would be the last one to disturb it. “Well then, I see you two have everything under control,” she quipped. “’m gonna breakfast.”

“You know, I could help you assembling this if I had my screwdriver,” the Master told him casually, not even looking up.

“Good thinking, but I’ll manage,” the Doctor answered with the same fake casualness.

“You know, it’s _mine_ , and you _stole_ it from my _dead_ body,” he argued more agitated now.

“How about a sunny place after breakfast?” he ignored him and called after Rose, who was on the way out.

“Sounds great,” she called back.

“Sounds boring,” the Master disagreed.

“How ‘bout,” she touched the wrinkled bridge of her nose while trying to remember, “that planet with the legend of having aboriginal people with visions from the future.”

“Uhrad,” the Doctor exclaimed. “Excellent choice, Rose Tyler.”

She grinned broadly and was on her merry way.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It was a nice planet, there was something warm and calming about its light. This is truly the right place for some meditation. They were heading for some caves and decided to take a look after the Doctor’s screwdriver had picked up a whole cave system.

“Something about this whole planet is very stimulating,” Rose enjoyed contently.

“It’s the atmosphere, stimulating the limbic system of your brain,” the Master commented, looking ahead, hands in his pockets.

“You always take the magic out,” she pouted a little and saw a small smile on his lips while he observed his own steps.

When they reached the caves, the Doctor handed her a flashlight. “Let’s see where it leads us,” he said adventurously.

“Great, you two go to the left, me to the right, I’ll catch up with you,” the Master informed them and sauntered away.

Rose was a bit startled by that, fiddling with her flashlight while looking after him. “Is … that alright?” she finally asked the Doctor.

“He’ll come back,” he answered quietly and searched for her hand. “Come on.”

She knew she had yet to talk to him. To the Master. Properly. But that would come automatically when they started the business with her head. And she’d lie if she said she wasn’t nervous about it. Up until now, the Master seemed to respect her boundaries and simply wait for her to make a move. But then again … he always sort of knew what she needed. Even if he hadn’t always acted that way. “I am a bit surprised you trust him so much,” she let on quietly. “But well … the TARDIS seems to have an eye on him too, so …”

“He could bypass most of the TARDIS’s larks,” the Doctor revealed quietly.

She almost stopped at that admission. “What?”

“I mean … the TARDIS is crafty. Sometimes you don’t really notice when she has a finger in the pie. But when you do, you can intervene to a certain extent.” He took a breath, turning towards her. “The Master made a paradox machine out of her. I think he would know ways to at least stem the extent of her pranks.”

Rose was frowning. “So why doesn’t he?”

She heard him sigh as he continued his way. “Maybe to accept some ‘punishment’, so to speak? Signalling me that he plays by the rules for now? I dunno.”

Huh. She honestly didn’t know what to say to that.

The Doctor let go of her hand, examining the wall to their right, letting the flashlight wander over it. “Hm,” he made. “This wall isn’t that black naturally. This is paint.”

“Paint?” Rose let her flashlight shine into the cave. “They painted the _whole_ cave?”

He frowned, walking ahead. “Seems like it.”

She followed him through a smaller tunnel. “Isn’t cave painting supposed to _tell_ you something?”

The Doctor stopped abruptly, making her almost run into him. “Maybe it is …” he answered, pointing to various paintings and writing in white.

“Okay, it’s a bit creepy, but also fascinating. They obviously had a tendency towards drama.”

The Doctor chuckled a little. “Slightly. Here, listen. ‘The wind will erupt, night’s mask will fall; the king will corrupt, and then he will crawl.’”

“Sounds dark. Hey, look, there are drawings. A … girl, I guess. And there’s one … of a wolf? What …” Words failed her. They got stuck in her throat as she read the words underneath.

The Doctor came up to her as she fell into silence and was the one who read them. “Night will come, the wolf will rise; it ends the song with golden … eyes.”

There was silence for a long time, they were motionless. “This …” Rose broke it finally, “this … isn’t some coincidence, is it?”

The Doctor didn’t say anything and didn’t look at her as steps approximated from behind. “You noticed the whole night theme of these caves? Someone has put a lot of effort into this whole …” The Master stopped, frowning. “You two frozen in time or something?”

“Doctor?” Rose prompted, trouble to keep her panic at bay.

“I don’t know,” he finally answered.

The Master came closer, peering at the place where they had their eyes on. Eventually, she looked up to him, examining his reaction. He mostly frowned, but his brows came up in surprise. “Well,” he said. “What d’you say about that.”

Something snapped inside her. “I need to know what this means,” she said determined and started to search the wall. “What’s this other one, about a king?”

She felt their eyes on her. “There are sentences all over,” the Master said. “I don’t think they particularly connect.”

“Yeah, well, what if they do?” she argued.

“I think he’s right,” the Doctor spoke up. “The only superordinate theme seems to be the night.”

“Shit,” Rose cursed, feeling herself begin to tremble.

The Doctor was instantly on her, her face in his hands. “It’s okay, we’ll figure this out.”

“But _the song_ , it’s what you were told, a- and … the wolf …”

“Yeah, but these kinds of prophecies are shady. Maybe it already happened. On Satellite Five, for instance.”

Well, it wasn’t comfortable to be reminded that she practically killed him back then, but it helped her calm herself. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Alright,” she whispered. “We’ll find out.”

“Definitely,” the Doctor promised. She swallowed and wrapped her arms around him, seeking safety in his hug. She felt one hand on her back, the other in her hair, holding her. Her eyes looked up behind his shoulder, wandering the walls and also noticing the Master’s face which showed her that he also didn’t really know what to make of it. It didn’t reassure her.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

They didn’t find the answer in the caves, even though they had stayed for a while, searching them. She finally let herself convince to go back to the TARDIS. Even though this all left her majorly uneasy, she accepted the possibility that this might be something they won’t solve any time soon.

She was in their bedroom, the Doctor just walking in it from the bathroom. She looked over to him. “You look tired. I know you can go long without sleep but even you need a minimum of it.”

He sighed, walking over to the bed. Sitting on it, one hand drove through his hair before he watched her again. “And what about you?” he asked softly.

Her eyes fell on her hands. “I don’t think I can sleep right now,” she answered quietly. “I’m gonna walk a bit, I think. Maybe I even hit the gym,” she chuckled without real humour. She was chewing on her teeth afterwards. “Something is happening, Doctor. With Bad Wolf in my head and now we got to see this …”

He was quiet for a while, lids hooded. “If you can’t sleep anyway, you maybe should take up the Master’s offer.” She _did_ look at him then, knowing this was kind of a sore subject for everyone. He looked up as well, watching her with warm eyes. “He might find something. Or at least explain what’s happening to you right now.”

She missed a beat, even her fiddling hands stopped while she thought about it. “You’re really okay with this?” she asked feebly.

“I already said I am, and I meant it,” he assured her and sounded in fact certain. She couldn’t tell how much of it was real. Maybe he _was_ okay.

She nodded. “Okay.”

She felt his hand seek out hers, enveloping it. “I also meant that we will figure this out,” he emphasized. “Not all at once, but we will.”

This was the first time she smiled, watching him gratefully. Her hand came up to his cheek and she leaned in. He already welcomed her, catching her bottom lip a second later. She gently eased out of it after a while. “I’m gonna take a walk,” she decided.

“You do that,” he agreed.

She kissed him once again before she left the room.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She toddled along the darkened floors of the TARDIS. She did this, dimming the light, simulating evening in the whole ship. So that Rose still had at least a somewhat circadian rhythm. She headed for the kitchen at first, maybe for a cuppa or something, but the TARDIS seemed to nudge her in a different direction. Apparently, she wanted her to go to the library. Rose quietly peered through the door and discovered the Master whom she expected to be there. It made sense, really. She was still shaken because of these caves and part of her burned to find out what was happening. And – like the Doctor hinted – there was only one person who could perhaps help her in that matter.

He was skimming through the bookshelves before he pulled one out.

“Whatcha reading?”

He properly _flinched_ at her voice, almost letting the book fall. “Jesus,” he exhaled. “I think one heart might’ve stopped.”

She grinned in disbelieve and entered the room, walking towards him. “Isn’t it much harder to sneak up on you lot?”

“The TARDIS shielded you up until now,” he explained casually and leaned back against a desk.

“She’s messing with you a lot, isn’t she?” She slowed down when she was in front of him.

“Yeah well, I’ve had my fun, I let her have hers for a bit.” He shrugged.

“Very generous,” she teased.

“If I want to be.” He kept his smile subtle but there was a spark in his eyes at her voice. He watched her for a little while in which the atmosphere of the silence shifted a bit. It was the first time he gave up that casualness of his tone when he spoke up again. “No Doctor, then?” His look was a bit calculating.

She wasn’t nervous. She _wasn’t_. “He’s off to bed,” was her answer. “Hasn’t slept for a while. You’re not tired?”

He huffed ever so slightly. “You know when I last slept.” His head tilted. “You were there.”

Huh-huh, okay yeah, she ran into that one. It has been barely two days for him since that warehouse. “You had nightmares then,” she chose to remind him.

“Well, dying slowly isn’t fun, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

There was a reluctant smile on her face. “I’m glad you’re not dead,” she said quietly.

“Be still, my heart,” he commented drily and maybe a little provocative.

She laughed while loosely crossing her arms, shaking her head with a hinted roll of her eyes. She took a deep breath. Okay, they obviously had to talk before they would dive into whatever he had in mind. “What do you want in return?” she asked directly. “When you help me figuring out what’s going on in my head?”

His smile was a bit crooked. He hadn’t expected that question from her, apparently pondering over it as well. “Nothing too unreasonable, I think,” he finally answered. “I want you to be honest, that’s all.” A small but sly grin was growing on his face. “Honesty was our thing, remember?”

She exhaled a little. Her arms eventually fell to her sides and she took a step forward, coming close to him. “I am _glad_ you’re not dead,” she repeated whispery, but allowed a lot more emotions to flood her words. Vulnerability, fear, (a wee bit) longing. Maybe she was whispering, because she was afraid of them. Her mouth opened to voice words that would come out only a breath later. “I missed you,” she unveiled, while he obviously tried to contain any reactions even though his stare was becoming intense. Her next words were losing any voice. “A lot more than I should have.”

He let that sink in for a moment before he responded, maybe weighting his options. “That wasn’t so bad,” he eventually answered, shocked that his voice wasn’t by far as steady as he had intended. He dared raising his hands and letting them carefully find her cheeks, gently caressing her soft skin while he let out a rather deep breath at the touch that he had held back before. And she let him, not flinching a tiny bit, never taking her clear and pure eyes off him. This would be torture for him, wouldn’t it? “Are you afraid?” he spoke softly, intimately. “Of the writing on the wall?”

Her lips parted a little, still glistening from some lip balm. “Yes,” she admitted. “I know something will happen, but I can’t grasp it.”

“We’ll find out,” he murmured and couldn’t help but stroking his thumb over her cheekbone, the dim light was accentuating her features. Her lids threatened to flutter a bit by that. “You want to stay here?” He bent his head slowly to the right, a bit of amusement was touching his expression. “The TARDIS hasn’t relinquished a room to me yet.”

A grin broke free on her face. “Never took you for someone who enjoys self-flagellation, but you let the TARDIS run you right now.”

“Discovering new sides of me, it seems,” he still kept murmuring, skimming her face as if he wanted to memorise every detail of it.

Her left hand came up and touched his on her cheek, gently enveloping it but ultimately to let them sink to their sides again. “I know a room,” she revealed and turned around to lead the way. She didn’t let go of his hand while doing so.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose didn’t know why she felt the need for a change of location. But the library had felt … open and public and she needed it to be more isolated for her to be able to concentrate. She didn’t know if that was a good thing.

The Master examined the room she was leading him into. The colours were kept in pastel violet shades and there was something very Qi Gong about the whole thing. There was even a ground pad on the floor. She had let go of his hand, walking into the room and finally looking for him again. He raised a brow. “Your yoga room?”

“Just … my room,” she corrected. “When I need time for me, to think, or whatever.”

“Huh.” He took a few steps further. “Your private room … and you let _me_ in?

“Don’t make a bigger deal outta this than it is,” she sighed. “I needed a feelgood factor and somewhere I can focus on _me_.”

He shrugged a little. “Quite right.” He simply headed for the pad and sat on it cross-legged. “Shall we start focusing then?”

She took a small breath but nodded, finding her place in front of him. She had no idea how to get this started, but he seemed to be ready to take the lead – like so often. His hands found hers, gently taking them, even if he didn’t lose eye contact. “You want to initiate this?”

She knew she could, but it only ever worked when her emotions were running high. “’m not sure …” she didn’t know how to say this, “if I’m quite ready for that.” It wasn’t like it was before, her structure was different now. But sometimes it was close enough and she wasn’t sure yet how to deal with that. “Can we do this at a later date?”

There was a small, knowing smile. “Yeah, we can. But you should challenge yourself with things like this. It’s vital that you can control things.”

“I’m not quite so fond of control like you.”

“When dealing with Bad Wolf, you’d better.”

“Alright, okay, promise,” she gave in. “Just not now.”

He missed a beat but finally pulled her hands up to his head. “You should still try to recognize how it feels.” She nodded, bringing her fingers in place. He did the same, spreading them on her head. She tried to hide it, but it was obvious how nervous she was. “You sure you’re ready?”

She swallowed hard, maintaining her composure. “You shaved a bit,” she noted faintly.

His kindling smile was tender. “Nothing gets past you, does it?” he bantered, and she smiled back at that. He got a little more serious. “I wouldn’t hurt you, Rose. You should know that by now.”

“You push me, though,” she argued feebly. “Sometimes.”

His grin intensified. “Yeah, I might do that,” he granted, drawling his words. “Keeps things interesting.”

She sighed but gave him her okay to get this started. He paid attention to keep it neutral when he slipped in, but he was keen on clicking their minds properly because he had an excuse then if things went astray. Also, because that part was still truly him. And not the Doctor’s.

She sighed at the feeling of their combined minds and he felt her feel the urge to touch him more. Sadly, she had enough self-control. At first, he was holding back a little, out of fear to scare her off, but he honestly couldn’t concentrate on the shapes of her mind. So he let loose.

He tried to hold back the moan, but seriously, why the hell should he? She was the only one having problems with these kinds of sensations accompanying their connection. One hand sild around the back of her neck, pulling it towards him so their foreheads could touch. He felt her cradling his cheeks, taking a breath. This felt nice. Not quite as overwhelming as before but just … _really_ nice.

Time to take a closer look. Her structure had changed again, incessantly building itself up again. They were small changes, but they were doing something. They fabricated something that was in a flux on its own even though it was tied to Rose’s mind. It was hard to tell if it should be regarded as independent or not. “You said you were seeing things?” he wanted to know. “In your dreams?”

“Sometimes,” she let on.

“And they become true?”

“Some of them.”

“Tell me about them,” he asked her. “Try to relive it.”

“Um, there was a bloke,” she remembered. “Never saw him before, but he … killed himself.” The Master was drawn to a certain aspect of her structure. Something was happening there. “Turned out he was the heir apparent of a cruel regime. He wanted it to stop but was desperate and didn’t see a way out. Couldn’t live with what was happening around ‘im.” She felt the Master stirring some things and she itched, not sure if she was uncomfortable or _too_ comfortable. “And I dunno how, but I _knew_ all the bloodshed and horror on this planet could end if he would only do the first step. Others would follow …” She suddenly let out a shuddering breath, having the urge to squirm in whatever way. “Blimey, what are you doing?” she asked fairly breathless.

“I think I see the planet,” he sighed. “A shade of it. You changed it, didn’t you? Actually changed it.”

“Yea’,” was all she brought out.

He chuckled. “Oh, you are truly golden,” he quipped. “I think you _are_ seeing or sensing timelines. Not quite as we do, but there’s potential.”

She swallowed, remembering the thought about _them_ having potential. “Is it Bad Wolf or you who gave me that ability?”

“It’s all so intertwined, it’s hard to tell. But since you only got this since we shared our life forces, I seem to have a little to do with it. Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to examine something. But I have to get a bit deeper for it. It’s not … sharing. But it’ll probably feel … intense.”

There was a pause. “Okay,” she finally said meekly. “Thanks for the warning.”

He didn’t want her to feel threatened by this. Or afraid of. He wanted her to enjoy this, whichever way. Because frankly, her constantly having a bad conscience about it didn’t sit very well with him. And suddenly he was hating this, hated that she was dependant on him in that way. “I’m sorry.” The words had left his mouth before he could rethink it. Well, shit.

He felt her frowning. “You’re uncomfortable,” she realised.

“No, _you_ are,” he countered. He pulled his head away from hers to be able to see her. He needed a few attempts, not sure if he had the balls to actually say this to her. “I’m sorry I put you in this position.”

She had a funny look on her face as she observed him. “You don’t _put_ me anywhere,” she assured him finally, even shifting a bit closer. A warmth she felt washed over him and it was so unexpected, he shivered. Considerably. “That you help me with this means the world to me.”

“It has selfish reasons,” he admitted, not without a small smile.

A ghost of a chuckle emerged from her while she looked to the side, until she focused on him again. “I’m aware of that. And still, it’s not the only reason.”

“I don’t want this to be something you loathe,” he continued. “I _need_ it to be something you don’t loath. Because to tell you the truth, it’s rather hurtful.” He said it with a certain humour, but they were connected, so she came to recognize his frustration. She got it, really. And she hated putting him in this position as well. He came a bit closer, almost leaning his nose onto hers. “Just try to enjoy this, okay?”

She sighed. “I can’t always promise you that, but … ‘m gonna try.” She tried to loosen up a bit, breathing out her tension. He was right in some way. She had to try to be comfortable with it. She actually leaned into him, one hand wandering to the back of his head, stopping at his neck. Her head leaned on his, as did her nose. She was steadying herself. “Ready when you are.”

He buried the urge to snog her hopefully before she could pick up on it and creeped a bit deeper. He was quite busy examining this certain aspect of her structure, having less focus on their outer bodies, but he did notice her quivering breath becoming heavier. He couldn’t help stroking her cheeks, trying to soothe her. He had to suss out how to come close to the factettes without them starting bristling, but he got the hang of it. Dammit, she was a beautiful, powerful being. She just didn’t know it yet.

The thought must have spurred her on, because she let out a silent moan that was quite sensual. He became aware of their bodies again and something told him it was time for a break, because he suddenly was losing his focus on the structure of her mind in favour of her slightly trembling form. So he slipped out but when he disconnected them, he felt her disappointment for a fleeting second, not sure if it had been real. But he also heard it in her voice. “Do we stop?” she asked with big eyes.

His smile had a slight satisfaction but was mostly charming and amused. “Only just figured out how to enjoy it?” he nevertheless teased.

He assumed he deserved her pleadingly annoyed look. “What did you find out?”

“I wanted to know if we’re dealing with you or rather some parasite, be it Bad Wolf or some other consequence of our life force sharing. If the structure and the abilities are independent from you.” His hands fell from her head but slid slowly down her arms, almost fondling them. She wasn’t sure if he was even aware of this. “There’s no easy answer but it seems to me like it’s not independent _yet_.”

She didn’t know if that sounded good. “What does that mean?”

He sighed. “It means you can be glad to have me. Because I can help you figuring out how to control this. With a bit of practise.” His hands had landed on her elbows, not quite ready to let go. He waited patiently until she looked into his eyes again. “Should we stop for now?” he murmured.

“Can it hurt me?” she asked. “If I don’t learn to control it?”

He was hesitant, and it was all she needed to know. “Eventually, maybe,” he admitted. “But you have time. You can grow with it, it develops pretty slowly.”

“How are you gonna teach me?” she asked further.

He blinked slowly. “Sharing our life forces at first. Until you have a perception of what’s going on in your head. _Then_ you can work with it.”

“Then we better start now.”

“You’re jumpy as hell,” he observed her.

“You just told me that I’m in danger!”

“No, you’re not listening. I said you _might_ be at _some_ point _if_ you don’t do anything. But you will. So you don’t have to worry.”

Her sigh was deep. “I …” she tried to confide in him. “There’s something inside me and I don’t understand it. It’s so much bigger than me and I _want_ to understand it. I know that it’s _vital_ I understand it. So … can we start, _please_? Otherwise I can’t sleep all night anyway.”

“No argument at this end,” he joked. “But when you’re too busy up there,” he gently tapped her temple, “you won’t be able to focus.”

“But _you’re_ always busy up there,” she almost whined. “Having twenty thoughts at once.”

“No offence, but I’m a Time Lord. And you’re not.”

She sagged a little, looking at him pleadingly again but she couldn’t hide the small smile. “‘No offence’, that’s new.”

He chuckled while turning his head to the side for a moment. His smile could be so damn adorable, it was almost annoying. He fixated her again, the smile didn’t die completely, and he blinked gingerly. “You sure?”

She swallowed. “Yeah, I want to start,” she said, eyes flitting to her sides.

Like he said, _he_ wouldn’t complain. “Come here,” he demanded softly, raising his hands, taking her into them again. She did the same, touching his temples, closing her lids. “You’re more emotional right now,” he murmured, and his demanding tone came back. “Try to initiate it.”

“I … I’m not sure …”

“Yes, you are,” he almost growled. “ _Do_ it.”

She wasn’t sure about the appropriateness, but something in his tone made her heart flutter a bit, and she _felt_ him, his presence, reaching out. All she had to do was take it. So she did.

She wasn’t sure concerning the details, but it flared up, she felt him lashing into her essence and hers blending in his. He groaned, voice heavy. “Good girl,” he praised (quite a bit teasingly), winding one arm around her so he could pull her closer. Her cross-legged knees had slid onto his. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

_You tell me._

_Shit,_ that thought had popped up out of nowhere.

She felt rather than heard his deep chuckle. Plus, his pride and satisfaction. “Careful,” he warned lowly. “Don’t let the Doctor hear your naughty little thoughts.”

 _That’s not fair._ “Oh, the Doctor has seen more than just thoughts,” she shot back.

She kind of regretted her words already. Partly because she expected a backlash. And there _was_ something. Something unpleasant. But not exclusively. It was all very muffled, so he obviously tried to hide it. His two little fingers were wandering (stroking?) along her jaw. “Has he felt them, though?” he prompted. “Your thoughts? Your desires? I don’t think so.” His voice dropped a bit. “Not like I do.”

She wished his sensations wouldn’t influence her that way. “Focus on the task at hand, or this stops now,” she snapped at him.

His expression was a bit harder, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t expected this. It was like she had said. He pushed her. He would never not. “Fine,” he all but growled and she instantly felt him get deeper. She remembered the feeling of him burning into her essence, unravel her, and her losing her grip. It’s been so damn long, her defences came up. She was still half sitting on him and his forehead came stroking along hers. “Everything’s okay,” he assured her, getting quieter, only murmuring. “Let me lead you.” She felt his fingers softly stroke along the skin of her cheek and her lips parted at his sensations he gave her physically and mentally. His voice was becoming a breathy whisper against the edge of her mouth. “Let me _feel_ you…”

It was like he had said. He _had_ selfish reasons. She could feel him getting off on this, absolutely intending to take what he would get. Enjoying that she allowed him to. That part of her enjoyed this as well. But she also felt him never losing focus. All his actions were determined and precise. He wasn’t only eager to help her because it felt good for him. He did it because he wanted to help her. Because he couldn’t wait to teach her. Because he wanted her to embrace her potential. And it was leaving her with warm, fuzzy feelings.

She let him untangle her and intertwine with him. She was ready to let go, let herself drift. But that was not what he had in mind. They weren’t drifting. They were heading. He was consciously sensing the structure in her head and she was sensing it through him. This was as foreign as it could get. It had edges and corners but not in the way of an actual building. But in the way of having the purpose to lead some energies and forces in a certain direction. There was a method to it all, but there was _so_ much happening at once. So many flows were crashing down on her. Until some of them seemed to fade. He was leading her focus, bringing her to one structure at a time. She was actually becoming familiar with the way it worked. Not that she understood it at all, but there were some _movements_ that were repeating. It felt infinitely complex to her. And this was working inside her head?

They were wandering along the edges for a good while, again and again. She sensed it, touched it. It was hers. The more she dealt with it, the more she got that feeling. At some point, it was like she was flowing with its rhythm. She didn’t know _how_ or _why_ or if it was only her, but she felt like its movements were familiar. Well, it _was_ in her head. Has been for a while now.

When they were focusing on one part of the structure, she tried to grasp it. But it was like slipping through, and she tried again. It didn’t work. At her third try, it was like her movements weren’t completely her own. On some level she knew the Master was helping. She only touched a tiny bit, but it reacted, spreading its waves. At the successful touch, her whole essence quivered. She did it. It probably wasn’t much, but she gave it a nudge.

She felt proud and mighty and needy for more and not all of it was hers. But she also felt herself slipping away. She felt him carefully untangling them. He was always so damn gentle when he did this and it was leaving her yearning. She felt utterly safe with him in moments like this.

She felt his deep sigh against her forehead. He was leaning his lips on it, barely keeping it a non-kiss. He had to compose himself, not moving a bit, only enjoying the aftermath of their connecting. She was motionless in his arms and it made him giddy and worried all at once.

One hand stroked from her upper back down, the other drove gently into her hair, moving her head a little back. He swallowed to find his voice when he looked at her. “You alright? Was this okay?”

Her doe-eyed look almost did him. He wished her innocence wouldn’t turn him on so bloody much. It was the doses of it. Because he knew she wasn’t really that innocent, he knew first-hand how headstrong and determined she mostly was and how drawn to danger. So when she showed this side of her, it always hit him unprepared. _Say something Rose, before I do something stupid._

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she assured him finally. “Am I really supposed to influence all that?”

He smiled a bit. “Not all at once, we only just started. But you will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

His smile didn’t vanish, his eyes sparkled a little as he skimmed her face. “Trust me on this.” But the smile got stuck in his throat, dreading what’s coming next. “We take a break here. You’ll probably … want to go back.” To the Doctor. To somewhere _he_ was not.

She needed a moment to answer and even then had problems. “I, uh … yeah.” Oooh, this was a strange feeling. They were so used to them cuddling afterwards, this just felt out of place. She felt like she would desert him. In a way, she was. “Even if it’s not that bad, I’m still knackered,” she nonetheless added. “I’m gonna go to bed.” She examined him with honest concern. “Are _you_ okay?”

 _No_ , he felt gutted that she would walk away, sleeping next to someone else while he was missing her presence aside him already. But it wasn’t unexpected. “I’ll manage,” he simply stated.

She nodded and after a while she stood up, heading for the door. It’s all a fine line with what she should say and what she shouldn’t. What he deserved to know (well, he probably knew but what he deserved to hear from her) and what was best left uncommented.

Hesitantly, she turned around, observing his sitting form. “I …”, she started quietly, “I missed your mind. The feeling of this.” His condition was honesty and she had to give him that now and again. He turned around at her words. He hadn’t expected that she would speak up again. “I feel safe … with you. When we do this,” she confessed. “Thanks for that.”

A small smile was forming on his lips. It was subtle. “You’re welcome,” he answered, softly blinking, accepting her words for what they were.

She nodded again and left the room. All in all, this didn’t go that bad.


	2. Of Screwdrivers, Everyday Struggles and Purple Confessions

She had slept great that night. When she half woke up and stirred a little, a tender hand stroked along her arm. She sighed in bliss at the touch and stretched her whole body. Turning around, a smile was on her face. When she opened her lids, she was greeted with a beautifully freckled face. He had his head propped on his hand, his hair was all over the place. “Sleep okay, then?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes,” she confirmed, interlocking their hands. “And you?”

“Like a log,” he chuckled. “Didn’t even notice you coming back. You _did_ make progress?”

She would have expected this to be more awkward. But it wasn’t. “The Master says I _am_ sensing timelines. But he’s also saying I have to learn to control all this, because otherwise, it might take on a life of its own.” She frowned. “So to speak. ‘m not sure on the specifics.”

His thumb was stroking over her hand as he seemed to process this information. “And did he sound confident about getting this done?”

“He’s the Master, he always sounds confident,” she joked. “But yeah, he didn’t seem to expect any bigger problems.”

“That’s good.” He actually sounded heavily relieved. He was trying to hide it, apparently not wanting to worry her, even though he should know better. “Fancy a cuppa?”

She decided to let it pass, because of course he was worried. She was too. But there was something else in his expression. He still seemed a bit beaten underneath it all, even though he had slept. Not as bad as before, but even so. It wasn’t just what they had seen in the cave. It was that they had seen it shortly after what happened on Earth. He’ll deal, she was sure of it. But she wished she could do something to help him along. “You’re still tired,” she voiced meekly, observing him. “From … everything that happened … right?”

There was a feeble smile and he raised their hands, stroking along her fingers. “I’ll be all right,” he assured her.

“I’m not questioning that, you went through a lot in your long life,” she answered. “But sometimes it helps to share your thoughts and feelings. And this time round, there’s someone on board who can actually understand what you are going through. S’all I’m saying.” She sat up straight then, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. “You go ahead for that cuppa, I’ll take a shower and be right with you.”

She leaned over for a quick kiss before she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving him in thought.

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The Doctor and Rose were already in the kitchen when the Master got in. He went straight to the cupboard to make himself some tea. He had new clothes, another T-shirt and his hair was a little damp. “Look at you,” Rose commented. “The TARDIS let you shower.”

“We’re coming to an understanding, she an’ I,” he confirmed and jumped on the counter, pouring quite a lot of sugar in his tea.

“What about it being a ‘bloody human habit’?” she quoted pertly.

“It _is_ ,” he persisted. “It’s unnecessary.” He shrugged. “But it feels rather nice,” he added, sipping from his beverage.

The Doctor stood up to bring his cup into the dishwasher. “So any preferences from you two? Skiing or the random generator?”

Skiing has been Rose’s proposal at one time. She did it once when she was fifteen and it was a lot of fun. But she felt a little more adventurous right now. “I’m up for the random generator.”

“Great,” he grinned at her.

“Yes. Great,” the Master added. “A fitting opportunity to give me my screwdriver back.”

The Doctor frowned annoyed. “ _How_ is this a _fitting_ opportunity to give you your screwdriver back?”

“It’s _always_ a fitting opportunity to give me my screwdriver back,” the Master countered calmly.

The other Time Lord blinked. “Well, wait for the next one, then.”

Oh, the Master _fumed_ inside. “You self-opinionated sod,” he grouched. “At which specific moment in time do you plan to give it back to me?”

The Doctor had propped his hand on the counter, the other on his hip. “A month,” he shrugged. “A year.” His face became fairly cocky. “Ten years.”

“Oh, don’t challenge me,” he threatened lowly.

The cheeky grin broke free on the Doctor’s face and he pushed himself off the counter. “C’mon, we’ll see where the TARDIS leads us,” he prompted them full of vim and vigor.

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They landed on a planet with unstable political circumstances where the Master almost started a revolution – despite the various parties had held promising talks before the three of them came along. He did it to annoy the Doctor, proclaiming to never would have gone through with it. Rose soon came to recognize that a squabbling between Time Lords ran in _totally_ different dimensions. Bigger dimensions, for instance.

And it was ‘simply’ a squabbling since the Doctor only scolded him but didn’t go all oncoming storm. It made her wonder for a fleeting second if the situation had really not been in any danger to escalate or if the Doctor became light-headed in the pull of the game.

On a space station, the Doctor went to the engines to prevent them from exploding, assigning the Master do the same at the other side of the ship. When the Doctor had left the room, his counterpart instead started searching the Doctor’s coat he had left there.

“What are you doing?” Rose frowned.

“I still have eighty seconds before it’s too late. I just wanna know if it’s in there …” he answered, pulling out a small plastic duck out of its pocket. His eyes grew comically. “Jesus, he has a pile of junk in there, hasn’t he?”

Rose couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. She stamped towards him and pushed him abruptly away from the coat, hands on his chest, catching him off guard. “Your screwdriver s’not in there, you go to these engines _now_!”

After the first surprise, his eyes hooded determined. “You know where it is?” he murmured calculating, even though he enjoyed the way her petite hands were pushing him backwards.

“I don’t,” she snapped. “And it won’t matter if you don’t get there on time.”

He sighed. “Keep your hair on, we’re not gonna die.” He turned around, actually having to hurry now.

There was a particular precision both Time Lords worked with, and it could be in utter sync when it really mattered. They were mostly bickering, often slightly working against each other, challenging each other. But there had been one or two situations that had been hairy where Rose could sense them completely understanding each other, complementing the other’s thoughts and movements. There was a naturalness about it which fascinated her.

And she wasn’t sure if they were even aware of this.

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The dynamic was different, however, when she was alone with him. The Master. And at the same time, it wasn’t. They were bantering when they were in sets of three. Teasing. But in the context of being alone with each other, it sometimes crossed the line to flirting. Even though it didn’t really distinguish from what they were like when it was the three of them.

Maybe it was all in her head.

But maybe it wasn’t.

Of course, it was somehow different.

When he touched her, it was with delicate, sometimes almost tender movements. His intense look had a way of alluring her, making her stare back at him. He stroked along her skin whenever there was an opportunity and held her as close as he knew she would let him.

The other part of their sessions was work. And it was hard work for her, getting to understand how the energy flow in her head was functioning. There was progress, but it wasn’t good enough for her.

“You’re doing _fine_ ,” the Master argued at some point. “When we did this for the very first time, all you felt was you being shredded and at the end, put together again. Granted, in a _very_ good way, but still. I barely have to lead you now for you to find the structure.”

“Yeah, but I can’t really manipulate it!” she countered frustrated.

“If you want to fly, you first have to learn how to walk, little one,” he grinned at her and it gave her slight goose bumps, him calling her that. “And that’s what we’re doing right now. Getting familiar with the structure.”

“Isn’t it frustrating for you to work with such a slow learner?” she asked suddenly quietly.

He tilted his head, observing her. “I already told you you’re doing fine.”

“Yeah, for a human,” she huffed.

That made him grin again. “This conversation is slightly reversed from its usual procedure, isn’t it?” She couldn’t prevent the corners of her mouth to go up, but she was looking to the ground. They were sitting in their usual cross-legged position opposite from each other. He slowly reached for her hands lying on her lap, gently lifting them and turning them around. His thumbs dared to caress the palm of her hand sensually slow, driving along the surface until it came to the pulse at her inner wrist, fondling it in tiny circling movements, feeling her pulse finally sped up. “You _know_ I’m not frustrated when we do this. Well,” he granted self-ironically, “not in _that_ way.” He grinned at her blushing. It was so easy to make her flustered.

At her lack of protest, he drove his finger further up along her arm, stroking over her sensitive skin on the inner side, observing her lips part. “I could teach you a lot more than this, no matter how long it would take,” he murmured with dark eyes, partly suggestive. He added barely audible, “If you’d let me.”

She finally wound out of his arms with a sigh. “We’ll continue this tomorrow. I’m gonna go to bed.” She stood up and went to the door. “Night,” she still added before leaving the room.

Their sessions had a lot to do with acceptance. Accepting each other. Her accepting his words, him accepting her not reacting to them (verbally). It was a sort of honesty they levelled off at.

At other times, they kept it pretty business. Still other times, it was similar to their first time on the TARDIS with slight regret on her side that she had to leave. When it had been particular exhausting, she only wanted to sleep on the spot.

It was never really strange though, in the morning.

She wondered if the two Time Lords talked about this situation, when they were alone. Or if they avoided that completely.

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There were times, however, when they were playing off against each other, when you could argue that some lines were being crossed.

When the Master was trying to get his bloody screwdriver back, for instance. Rose wasn’t completely sure _why_ the Doctor was holding it back for so long. Apart from safety issues, it seemed to be a game for them. Not for the first time, Rose noticed the lines getting blurry.

At some point, the Master was powering down important systems of the TARDIS in a way both Time Lords with both their screwdrivers would have been easily able to fix the problem again. Air becoming critical, he wanted to force the Doctor to give in. He didn’t, gambling and winning. Of course the Master wouldn’t just suffocate them all – only he let it go on a tad bit too long for her taste.

Other situations were less life-threatening, but more personal.

“Blimey, you’re both sleeping like a log.” The voice was startling them. Rose and the Doctor jerked up in their bed, seeing the Master strolling through the room. Rose became aware that she was wearing no clothes due to certain activities last night. At all.

The blond Time Lord ended his round, throwing himself on the foot of the bed, bouncing from the jump, his head propped on his hand as he lay across both sides of the bed. “It has to be here,” he stated, referring to his screwdriver. “So either show me and therefore get rid of me _or_ I stay for a while and we chat.” There was a big grin on his face.

“ _Or_ you sod off while we’re getting dressed,” Rose suggested sharply, holding the blanket close to her chest.

“ _Please_ ,” he let out. “I’ve seen both of you fairly undressed before, I promise not to blush,” he mocked.

Okay, she didn’t know if he was talking about the Doctor’s current body or generally about the Doctor, and she wasn’t sure if she really needed to know.

The Doctor was driving one hand over his face in frustration. To her surprise, he threw his blanket aside and stood up. And yeah, he was completely naked, too. The Master on the other hand was in fact not bothered by that, more looking at her, winking with a perverse amusement about her discomfort. No matter how long they were travelling together, there were always new layers of the Time Lords’ relationship to discover. It was intriguing in a way and never let her forget that they had known each other for centuries.

The Doctor came up to them after having put on underpants and a T-shirt. “Come out with me _now_ if you don’t want to lose body parts.”

He actually listened.

And yeah, it occurred that she got caught in the crossfire of them. There were times when they both were trying to show off and at rare times it was just enough to piss her off.

At some point, the Doctor had a plan to save a planet with which the Master disagreed. According to the Doctor it was by far too risky, the Master thought his solution was rather elegant. When they split up, she tried to keep the Master from doing anything stupid. “Don’t think about doing something single-handed,” she warned. “If you two work against each other, this planet could pay the price.”

He twirled around, making her almost crash into him. “You know, it’s not really that dangerous as the Doctor puts it,” he argued and the slight shiny spark in his eyes should have been a warning. “When you’re underground,” he added, giving her a slight push and she fell into a crack on the ground, landing in _slimy goo_.

She was so pissed at him, she barely kept it together afterwards, his amusement about her covered in lilac slime only fuelled her anger.

“I don’t know why you’re so mad, seriously,” the Master defended. “If it hadn’t work, you would’ve been safe underground.”

“You didn’t want me _safe_!” she screamed high-pitched. “You wanted me _out of the way_!”

“And seeing you in lilac,” he couldn’t bite back, snickering, “because it will stay a while on your skin.”

Her hand came out of nowhere, really. It exploded on his face and he stumbled utterly dumbstruck to the right, tripping over his own feet, incapable to hold himself upright. He slumped to the ground with a thud.

She stormed off. But only after he heard a sudden laugh emerge from the Doctor, he realized how unbelievably stupid he must’ve had looked.

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It wasn’t that long after the Master had come aboard when he joined the Doctor in the control room. He sighed deeply when he entered, walking to the jump seat to let himself fall on it. “I fixed the heating in the swimming pool, recalibrated the ship’s sensors, designed a new tool to keep the bloody magnetic superficial matrix from fluctuating and took a look at the chameleon circuit.” He enjoyed the little flicker of horror on the Doctor’s face and grinned slyly. “Don’t panic. I didn’t fix it.”

The Doctor exhaled, annoyed that he had been able to appal him that easily. “Well, haven’t you been a busy little bee,” he finally commented, leaning over the console, propped on his elbows.

“It’s liberating with the drums gone. But I can’t really sit still, now less than ever.”

The Doctor let that sink in, also because this was quite open. “Is it too quiet now?”

The Master looked down, deliberating. “Not really. Just unfamiliar.”

The Doctor was weighing his next words, wanting to say them even though his counterpart probably didn’t want to hear them. “I know you probably refuse that offer with a fierce rejection,” he sighed, rubbing his finger over one eye, making this casual, “but if you need _any_ thing, even to talk, you can ask.”

The Master seemed to gauge the other Time Lord, his only movement was a blink. “I need my screwdriver back,” he only half joked.

The Doctor’s hand fell from his face as he chuckled under his breath. “Not what I meant.”

“It was worth a try,” he sighed, looking sideward.

The Doctor tilted up and came around the console, eventually leaning against it so he was opposite him, his hands were slipping into his pockets. “Rose’s structure,” he started. “What can you say about it?”

The other one sighed and leaned back across the chair so that his legs could dangle over the armrest. He was staring at the ceiling. “Still figuring out the details. The structure originally made it possible for me to connect with Bad Wolf. It’s mixed up with us sharing our life forces. Somehow Bad Wolf made it possible to incorporate my ability to sense timelines into Rose – to a certain extent. Bad Wolf protects Rose, but I’m not sure if it isn’t a means to an end.”

“And it uses Rose as host?” the Doctor prompted.

“In a manner of speaking,” he agreed. “But it’s more complex than that. Rose isn’t just a host. She can control this.”

He observed the Master seriously. “Don’t you risk her,” he suddenly warned. “Don’t risk her life with your ambition.” He watched the blond peering at him, and he swallowed hard. “She means too much to me,” he quietly confessed.

The Master was obviously calculation his response to that. “She’s quite a weakness of yours, Doctor,” he finally voiced. “If … let’s just say … an enemy would want to get to you.”

He was mainly teasing him, he was aware. He would never use Rose _that_ way. Not anymore. Because … “She means something to you as well,” he simply replied.

“Oh, that so?” he drawled, but there was some anger(?) flashing behind his eyes.

The Doctor sighed, squirming lightly and used his hands to grip the console behind him. He didn’t want to upset him and his feelings concerning the whole situation were probably twisted and complicated (good guess, because everything about him was twisted and complicated). So he let that subject go. “So I take it that she’s not in imminent danger?”

There passed a few seconds, before he answered, obviously decided to just go with it. “No.”

It wasn’t the last time they talked about it. The tone and atmosphere was always a bit different. One time, the Master came into the kitchen, heading for the cupboard for tea when the Doctor was coincidentally there as well, reading some book, specs in place.

“Something interesting?” the Master asked casually, pouring his cup.

“I’m trying to get more information about the energetic flow comparable to Bad Wolf, but the data _is_ rather limited,” he answered, not looking up.

“Any ideas popped up?” the blond asked, moaning shortly after. “Where’s the sugar?”

“Maybe the TARDIS is hiding it again.”

“Don’t be a bitch,” he scolded her, talking into the air.

“It might be easier for her to get a hold of it when she’s experiencing the vision instead of only having the memory of a vision,” the Doctor answered his earlier question.

The Master leaned against the table, moving the spoon in the liquor. “Problem is, she mainly experiences these while sleeping.” He grimaced after drinking from his mug.

“Fair point,” he murmured, still kind of absent. “How’s she doing?”

The Master didn’t look up from his cup. “She’s making progress,” he told him.

The Doctor looked up from his book, observing him. “And how are you doing?” he dared to ask. “Still feeling the need to keep busy?”

There was a slight grin. “Don’t we both?”

He let the book sink for a moment, leaning his head back a little. For some reason, the Master made no move to leave the room. They did this, sometimes. Staying in the same room for no particular reason. There was a comfortable familiarity about it. It would never hold, but it would never stay away completely as well. He focused on the blond one, having the need to address a certain topic. “Do you wish you would have gone with them?” he suddenly asked.

There weren’t that many possibilities he could be referring to any time recently. “And would have done _what_?” he countered. “Living on Gallifrey in a time lock? During the Time War? I fled from that in the first place.”

The Doctor shrugged. “You considered giving up your body and joining them.”

“Yeah well, I was on the supposition that my body wouldn’t serve me for much longer. But to be honest, it was a desperate choice.” The Doctor’s look fell to the ground as he heard a breathy chuckle. “You know, you _do_ have balls, I have to give you that,” the Master said, but his chuckle didn’t have real humour. “Just to end it all completely …”

“It was a desperate choice as well,” he commented quietly.

He missed a beat. “It was the right choice,” he admitted eventually. “Wasn’t sure about that for a long time, but … I guess, otherwise, it would be truly worse. Even though I can’t deny this chaotic alternative a certain appeal. Always thought this universe needs a major jolt now and then.”

The Doctor couldn’t hold back the grin. “I like you better post-drumming.”

The Master huffed and set himself into motion. “Shut it,” he sighed (not grinning at all, thank you very much!), giving his mug a shove, so it slid towards the Doctor. “Here, drink that. It’s disgusting.”

He headed for the door afterwards.

The Master followed the Doctor who was (mostly) in his underwear. He himself was still very amused about the whole situation that had transpired. Even when seeing Rose flustered due to it being obvious that they had shagged the night before wasn’t by far the favourite thing he has ever seen, it was still seeing Rose flustered. And he fairly enjoyed _that_ , no matter the circumstances.

The Doctor led them into the kitchen, opened the fridge to get a bottle of water which bottle top landed on the table, on which he leaned with both hands to his sides, after he had drunk a big swallow from the bottle. He sighed as he watched him. “Your screwdriver isn’t in our bedroom.”

“Liar liar, pants on _fire_ ,” he mocked, humour good enough.

“Why do you want it so bad?”

“Wh-” he huffed, not even able to finish the word. “Did you seriously just ask me that? Why don’t you just hand it over?” He didn’t get an answer. The Doctor looked uncomfortable. And the Master got more serious. “I could have done far more damage even without that screwdriver,” he revealed matter-of-factly, not that the Doctor didn’t know that. “I could’ve attempted to kill you both and maybe even succeeded. So what are you afraid of? That I kill someone on our journeys in the heat of the moment? That I steal something, like the TARDIS?” His next words came with a slightly cold sneer. “Or some _one_?”

“Threatening won’t help your case,” the Doctor snapped back resolutely.

“ _Oh_ , am I in court?” he faked surprise, hand on his chest. “Didn’t know you were plaintiff, judge and executor all at once. Pardon me, your Lordship, Members of the Jury!”

“Cut the dramatics,” he spat almost disgusted, shaking his head in disbelieve.

“But it’s fitting, since you see yourself that way,” he countered.

“You’ll get your screwdriver back when you need it,” he stated. “Like you said, you have enough power without it.”

“And the judge has spoken,” the Master didn’t stop mocking, watching the Doctor walk around the table to leave the room. “And I’ll get it earlier than that,” he added lowly.

So, yeah. Their encounters had a broad spectrum.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

After every up and down, every major and minor progress and regress, Rose was standing in the bathroom, observing her purple skin and hair. She had showered three times. It helped slightly, at best. The hair wasn’t that bad, actually. She always had fun with highlighting her hair for certain occasions. But half her face was lilac as well. “’m gonna kill him,” she muttered under her breath, stomping out of the room.

She found him in the library, sitting on the couch with a book. He looked up and examined her with the flaring amusement from earlier. She built herself up in front of him. “There has to be a way to get this off. Tell me.”

He snorted, unable to contain it. “I swear, you just have to wait, it’ll vanish.”

“You’re lying through your teeth!” she accused him.

He tilted his head. “I think you look rather lovely.”

She _was_ taken aback, but still. “Oh, save it,” she sighed.

“This isn’t that bad, you went through much worse,” he tried to understand. “ _I_ put you through much worse,” he pointed out.

“It’s just that,” she started over-eagerly, but stopped herself. “Oh, forget it.”

She turned around to leave, but he caught up with her in an instant. “Wait,” he said, lightly catching her elbow, turning her back to him. “What is it? Tell me.” The command was soft, but it was a command, nonetheless.

“It’s nothing,” she sighed. “You’re right, this isn’t the end of the world, I’m gonna calm down.”

“ _Rose_ ,” he prompted.

“Don’t …” she said feebly, shaking her head. “Can’t you just …?” There was a deep sigh. Their promise of honesty could be a real pain in the arse sometimes. She could bypass certain stuff, but this was a pretty obvious situation. “This is so stupid,” she murmured, observing her feet. “I … felt betrayed – for a lack of a better word.”

He needed a moment to understand, not expecting that. “By me?”

“It’s not that bad,” she sighed, her shaking head looking away, trying to dismiss this whole thing.

“Well, it clearly is for _you_. So why did you feel betrayed?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked directly. “You _literally_ dropped me like a hot stone.”

“I …” he wanted to argue but ended up frowning. “That wasn’t my intention.”

“Yeah, you often don’t twig what your actions trigger inside the people around you,” she told him. “Not because you can’t, but because you don’t care. But whatever, it’s _really_ not that bad, I’m just …”

His hands flew to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to,” he tried again. “I was just caught up in …”

“… the game, yes I know,” she nodded. “You and the Doctor, both. I normally don’t mind you two playing. I don’t know why this got me worked up, ‘m sorry. I better just go.”

“Stay.” His voice could get _really_ soft if he wanted to. “Let me make it up to you.”

She sighed. “You don’t need to make anything up to me,” she assured him. “I’m sorry I slapped you, so I guess we’re even. But if you want, we could work a little on me handling my structure.”

His grin was growing. “What excellent ideas you have,” he teased a little, already leading the way.

He closed the door to her room, after they had gone through. “You’ll be initiating,” he simply decided.

“Do I have to?” she almost whinged.

“Nothing comes from nothing, Rose Tyler. Don’t be a child.”

The truth was, he was actually a damn good teacher. You needed a little push here and there, you had to go out of your comfort zone to get better, even when you didn’t like it. “Fine,” she sighed and found his temples directly after they were sitting face to face. She was getting a feeling for it. Peaking some of her own emotions in a way to initiate it without it being too overwhelming. She couldn’t do it fully alone (yet?). There was always one finishing touch emanating from him, but it was becoming no more than a nudge.

There was a sensual sigh from his side. “You’re getting good at this,” he hummed, clicking their minds together. Sometimes it was easier to ignore the associated sensations of what they were doing. And sometimes … not.

She concentrated on her structure, trying once again to grasp it, to recognize its movements. It sometimes worked now even without them sharing their life forces. Depending on their goal and her state, either the one or the other was the better option. She was becoming familiar with it, seeing some patterns. And she succeeded to touch it every now and then. But the touch was never truly … substantial. It didn’t achieve anything important. Like triggering a vision or anything at all. His following moan was a bit more annoyed. “You’re trying too rational again, putting too much pressure on you.”

“Well, I didn’t make any progress for three sessions,” she justified.

She suddenly felt him slipping out, instantly missing the feeling. “Okay, first of all … you need to relax.”

“Great, you have some Bach flowers?” she asked drily.

“Why, aren’t we sassy today. Do I need to put you in the corner for a while?”

She snorted which turned into a laugh, actually amused by that. “Make sure to not take this teacher-student thing all too serious,” she warned teasingly.

“Oh, I like this _thing_ ,” he rumbled suggestively, loving the ideas she was giving him. “Lay back.”

“’Scuse me?” she all but stuttered.

“You need to relax.”

“I’m really not sure this is the right method,” she answered with big eyes.

His chuckle was a bit more neutral now. “I’m not gonna _do_ anything. But your mind and body are connected. When your body is tense, your mind can’t relax. So just lay back and try to loosen up.” His smile was almost warm. “This is _your_ room. _Your_ conditions.”

He was right. It would never happen anything she wasn’t okay with. So she took a breath – and lay down on the pad. She was shrugging a bit, trying to slacken. He was sitting beside her for now. “Breathe into your belly and try to feel the muscles in your body.”

“Is this how you control everything in _your_ body?” she asked. “By feeling it?”

“More or less,” he answered. “It’s similar, only profoundly more developed.”

She couldn’t help the small smile. She didn’t know when it happened that his emphasising his superiority was something that amused her rather than annoyed her. She started to feel the tension leave her body, and her eyes fell shut. She was safe here. She was snug.

“I’m going to go to your head, touching your temples from above,” he informed her. “The alternative isn’t probably something you fancy.”

She blushed at the mental picture of him above her and hoped he didn’t notice. She simply nodded. And felt his hovering presence above her head and his fingers spreading on her temples. When their connection flared alive, she felt his forehead drop to hers and his deep breath on it. It had worked. She had a clearer notion from the structure. It was like she was swimming with it naturally. The structure suddenly much deeper and more vivid than she has ever seen it.

She heard his moan and felt him stirring inside. “Go on, don’t focus on _me_ ,” he ordered instantly, his voice fairly breathless. His control over himself wasn’t quite as present as it mostly was. But she did what she was told, going with the flow. She swam with it for a while, feeling it differently from before. She felt like she was part of it. When she reached out, it was like she actually grabbed something. It felt all logical that moment.

She could take it.

She could _twist_ it.

“God _yes_ , that’s it,” he rapped out, suddenly clutching her head. His voice was becoming husky. “Go for it.”

And she did. It was like moving a lever that influenced a hundred different wheels and possibilities. It was a matter of moving the right lever at the right time. She wandered along the edges, seeing things flow. She recognized which levers had smaller influence. She used them, seeing them change a few things in the flow. Every time she felt the Master shudder. And even though she wasn’t supposed to focus on him, his feelings got more and more difficult to ignore. Arousal was flooding her but also him trying to balance his need to lead her and the necessity for her to find out herself. But she felt high and powerful and at the same time she knew that she only scratched the surface. And _he_ had the knowledge.

So her hands flew up over her head, finding his. She wanted to coax him. And didn’t expect him to crash down on her (mentally). He groaned, letting loose. “Jesus, Rose,” he moaned ecstatically. “You feel bloody fantastic.” His whisper was barely audible. “You’re so gorgeous.”

Her whole body quivered due to these emotions and she came to recognize certain parts being responsible for certain functions. The parts where she was connected with the Master (shit, this _was_ quite erotic, wasn’t it?), the parts where potential timelines could be incorporated, the parts where they were connected to her dream centre. It all made sense. And she felt him getting wild at her seeing all this. She wanted more, not sure if it was because she finally understood something or because she liked making _him_ feel that way.

But as fast as it came, it slipped from her grasp once again. It was like her mind was closing up again, too exhausted to keep this up. She panicked but felt him soothe her. “Shsh,” he made, stroking over her hair. “It’s okay, this was brilliant,” he whispered, and she felt her own ragged breathing, her trembling chest, her open mouth. “You were good,” he continued reassuring her and she wasn’t sure at first, but his hands were on her skin of her face and neck, stroking, seeking contact. His temple leaned on hers, his breath was on her ear. “So fucking good,” he rumbled lowly.

She shivered, driving her hands through his hair, not ready to let go. His wandering hand got bolder, brushing her décolleté and sultry caressing her up her throat. She bit back a moan. This was all wrong, even for him. He couldn’t cross certain lines, because he would lose this, then. He would lose her.

However, he couldn’t stop his hand from wandering down again. Enjoying her hitched breath and held back moans when he drove tenderly along her skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps and quivering movements. Fondling her skin, it finally rested near her heart, feeling it pounding against her chest in anticipation. She bit her lip, breathing against it, supressing things. “ _Say_ it,” he ordered, as she once again held back words. _Just once._

“Master,” she sighed, and he could only just keep his groan from getting embarrassingly loud when she continued. “Get off me.”

 _Shit_.

His hands parted from her skin and he sat up shakily, backing off. He swung back, getting from his knees to sitting on his bum. _Fucking shit_. Did he just destroy what they had since he came back? Would she even allow him to come near her again?

She sat up as well, her back towards him. She seemed to gather herself, crossed arms across her knees. His head fell into his hand, driving it through his hair. His eyes fell shut. “I’m sorry.” It was all he could say, really. Everything else didn’t really matter.

“No, it’s all right,” he heard her quiet answer and he peered to her again. She was still facing away from him. “This was intense and unexpected for both of us.” She sighed deeply before she slowly got up, toddling to the door. He hated that she wouldn’t look at him. There was a hollow pain in his chest, and he hated this feeling even more. When she stopped at touching the doorknob and turned around to face him however, it didn’t make this better. “These thoughts and sensations will pop up, because ...” she started slowly, “yeah, of our history and frankly, also because you’re quite attractive.” There was a detachment in her tone that made him want to look away instead. “But it doesn’t mean anything,” she stated as simply as soberly.

He _knew_ that, it wasn’t like he didn’t know. He still wanted to smash the room after she had left it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support! It's so great to read your thoughts on it <3


	3. All’s well … right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, wrapping up Act I, so to speak^^ And let me just repeat ... your comments make me so very happy <3

In the several centuries of his life, he had barely panicked. Well, he guessed he did when he decided to flee the war and use the fob watch. But apart from that … barely.

And he didn’t now. Not really.

But he felt slightly touching the edges of panic.

He itched to do something to make this stop. This twitchy itching was something he had to fight since the drums were gone. But something told him that laying her room to waste wouldn’t help him in _either_ way.

So, he didn’t.

He was vacillating between wanting to fix this and denying that there was even anything broken. Because seriously – what happened, it wasn’t that bad.

Right?

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose didn’t know if she was glad that the Doctor wasn’t in their room that night or terrified. She somehow had the need to talk to him, even if she had no idea what to say.

It took her thirty minutes before she decided to search for him.

Predictably, he was in the console room. His brows shot up when he saw her, not expecting her to be here so late. She just smiled at him (even when tiredly) and walked straight into him for a hug. Feeling his arms hugging around her instantly calmed her. She didn’t know how long they were standing like this until the Doctor started murmuring against her hair. “Everything okay, Rose?”

“It is now,” she sighed. “I’m sorry. Sometimes, these sessions with the Master are … strange and intense.” She got the feeling she became quieter with every word.

She felt his hand driving tenderly over her back, his hold on her tightening ever so slightly. “I know,” he finally whispered.

“It’s all okay, I just needed your hug,” she told him.

His fingers drove in her hair and he leaned his head back to drop his forehead on hers. A moment later, he caught her lips. It was tender even though determined, balancing two different needs. “I’m here, Rose,” he broke the kiss, promising. “I’m always here.”

She let her eyes rest on him, vulnerably. “Good.” And she leaned into his kiss again.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

They had to meet up eventually and the Master didn’t want to make this even more awkward. And even though he had mixed feelings all over the place, he knew that _she_ was by far more insecure concerning all this.

So yeah, _he_ was the one looking for _her_.

He found her in the library. He wasn’t particularly quiet, but she seemed to be so in thought in front of the bookshelf, she didn’t hear him at first. When she did, she twirled around, finding him slightly grinning at her startle. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“No problem,” she answered. “But for the record – that happens when people sneak up on you.”

Ouch, she was a bit trenchant. Not necessarily only the words, but her whole attitude. But nothing he couldn’t handle. “Can we talk?”

She blinked. “ _Talk?_ ” she asked surprised. “What’s there to talk?”

Oh, he was turned on when her innocence was real. And not when it was that fake. “Oh I don’t know, possibly why you’re acting this distant,” he maybe snapped a little more than needed.

It made her miss a beat. “ _Distant_ ,” she quoted, “is what we’re supposed to be.”

 _There_ we are.

“No, it’s everything but,” he shot back. “What we’re working on, that’s only possible because we’re _not_ distant.”

She shook her head. “That’s not true,” she disagreed in denial.

“Rose, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he suddenly sighed almost warily. “We’re not gonna get married or have children together, and you don’t need to fret about your relationship with the Doctor. It can both work without you being so _strained_ all the time.”

“But it’s exhausting!” she called out desperately, her reluctance breaking. “It’s been exhausting from the start.”

“Only because you’re making it,” he tried to make her see.

“I’m not _making_ anything,” she argued. “It’s doing it all on its own!”

“But _why_?” he asked with a step forwards, genuinely not understanding. “What’s so goddamn awful about it?”

“That it feels so _bloody_ awesome, _okay_?!” she almost screamed.

There was a pause, she maybe even was a little shocked by her own words. “Sounds all right to me,” he finally said, trying to show her that this was not a bad thing.

“But it’s not, since I experience this with _you_ ,” she said without thinking, just frustrated that he pretended not to get it.

But he swallowed and his smile had a bitterness he couldn’t hide. “I’ll try not to take this personally,” he joked drily.

“I’m … I’m sorry,” she faltered, feeling the need to take it back. “This is …” She paused and then groaned, rubbing both hands over her face. “This is madness.”

“I know madness, and this definitely distinguishes,” he countered.

“How can I …?” she started but became very quiet. “How can I be okay with all this? You said I shouldn’t make this difficult, shouldn’t fight it. But how can I not?”

“Rose,” he sighed, briefly looking to the ground but came closer until he was right in front of her. “Your relationship to me is fundamentally different from your relationship to the Doctor. You _can_ enjoy both.”

_Could she?_

“Maybe I can draw the line somewhere, but I can’t snog you or anything,” she said straight-forward.

“I’m sorry when I crossed a line last time,” he said honestly and suddenly had a subtle sly grin on his lips. “And I’m sorry for every time I probably will again.” Before she could get uncomfortable at that, he continued with the same honesty. “I like what we have right now,” he revealed. “And frankly, I don’t want to lose that.”

He could see how taken aback she was from that. He almost expected it. He knew she occasionally believed he was pushing and pulling and petting (figuratively spoken) her manipulatively, and he only partly could argue with that. He knew that opening up now and then would make her reach out. And sometimes, he fricking _needed_ that. He needed her to come to him. And he wasn’t even lying, he was only lulling her with the truth.

Seeing her nervously trying to stop fiddling with anything almost made him smile. He knew her so damn well, that alone was a turn-on. He wanted to play her like an instrument and ignore the fact that she held so much power over him.

Her voice was almost gone when she spoke up. “I don’t wanna lose that either,” she admitted.

He did smile then. It was light and almost tender. “That’s actually nice to hear.” And it was. He loved hearing her say these things out loud.

Her kneading fingers finally slumped with an accompanied little sigh. “It’s all ups and downs with you,” she complained.

One brow lifted. “I’m sorry, I guess?” he offered, not all too serious.

“Can we just sit down one time and natter like buddies?” she tried to loosen up the tension.

He shrugged in good humour. “Sure we can,” was his answer and he walked past her. She saw him throwing himself on the couch, leaning against the arm rest. “Let’s chat.”

“Um … o-kay,” she made a little perplexed at first. But when she thought about it for a second, she found that this was indeed okay. In fact, she believed that she kind of needed that. They always talked when they were with the Doctor or about to work on her structure. Maybe this would be a little more … normal?

She walked over to sit on the couch, positioning herself opposite to him, leaning on the opposite arm rest. “Don’t spread across the whole couch, move a bit, would you,” she scolded teasingly. He grinned at her, but made a little room, so that her legs had enough space beside his. “In the beginning, you have been very reluctant to participate in the decision on which planet we were gonna visit,” she simply started, realizing there were a bunch of questions she somehow never asked. “Was there a particular reason for that?”

He shrugged. “I was only just observing and acclimatising. One step at a time.”

“Says the man who does half a dozen things at once,” she commented.

His grin was crooked. “At least a dozen,” he corrected smugly.

“How did you decide which planet to visit before all this?” she wanted to know. “Before we met.”

“I wasn’t particularly _visiting_.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to go into the _conquering_. Or whatever. But you were travelling, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sure,” he answered casually. “But the Doctor wants to impress you lot. I just … went where I felt like.”

“Meaning,” she prompted, “where a lot of action was?”

He grinned. “Maybe.”

She mirrored it. “But to be honest, the Doctor makes only half the decisions. The other half is made by the TARDIS.”

He chuckled a bit. “Oh, I have no doubt in my mind.”

“Speaking of,” she continued. “Why did you let the TARDIS doing all these pranks on you?”

“Maybe I considered it the best option to get into her favour.” He shrugged a bit. “At least a little. She _was_ fairly cranky.”

“Well, you made a paradox machine out of her,” she argued.

“And quite nicely too,” he added.

Rose rolled her eyes. “I see your remorse isn’t getting any bigger.”

Despite being able to talk with a certain distance about it, he still noticed ever so slight disillusion in her voice. His look fell down, only watching his from his knee dangling hand out of the corners of his eyes. “Maybe I wanted to make it right a little. Whatever that means.”

There was a long pause, in which she was observing him. He felt it before he heard her. “That means you have in fact learned something,” she said calmly.

After a moment he huffed grinning. “You would never give up, would you?” he mumbled and only then looked up again. “Trying to make me a better person, or what _you_ define as a ‘better’ person.”

She sighed, almost a little defeated. “Look, ‘m just saying what I think. Do with that what you like.”

There was still a hidden grin on his lips. “Maybe I did it because I wanted to be close to you,” he drawled.

Rose knew he was being provocative and still shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t break eye contact. “Well, you are,” she simply stated.

He blinked, his grin became a bit slyer. “That I am.”

“I wonder why you left out the Doctor in this equation,” she got bolder again.

“Meaning?”

“Well, you stayed because of him too. You let the TARDIS do things to you to show _him_ you’re gonna play by the rules.”

He tilted his head. “Hardly.”

“Oh, knock it off,” she scolded. “I’m in your head as much as you’re in mine, I pick up on things. And I have eyes. You two complement each other. If it really matters, you totally understand each other.”

There was a grin again. “A pretty picture you paint there.”

“You’re telling me I’m wrong?” she challenged.

“I’m telling you that you interpret the circumstances subjectively.”

“Well, then I’m telling you that you’re not interpreting the circumstances objectively.”

He chuckled at that, obviously amused. “Our paths crossed again and again over the centuries. We never stayed, though.” His grin lit up a little. “Isn’t that right, Doctor?”

Rose blinked before she looked to the door and was surprised to see the Doctor in the door frame. He held a cup of something in his left hand, his right one was inside his pocket. “Hey,” she greeted him softly. “Why don’t you come in.”

“Yes, _mate_ , why don’t you grab a chair,” the Master suggested with a certain mockery, but it was an invitation, nonetheless. The Doctor moved, strolling into the room and actually took a chair to place it in front of the couch. “ _I’m_ here, for example,” the Master continued while the Doctor was sitting down, propping his feet against the couch, “because I’m far better at telepathy than the Doctor. You had the worst grades.”

He shrugged. “I was all right,” he answered casually, sipping his tea.

“Overstatement,” the Master argued.

Rose couldn’t hide the grin. There had obviously always been competition. “There’s something you’re not the best at?” she couldn’t resist to join the banter.

“Oh Rose, there’s _a lot_ he is not the best at,” the Master interposed, the glint in his eyes verging on suggestiveness.

“You’re a sodding braggart,” the Doctor shot back. “And there was a lot of cheating on your part involved during your education.”

“I thought that was part of the lesson,” the Master answered nonchalantly. “How to get away with cheating without being caught.”

“I’m sure you did,” the Doctor tried to hide a grin behind sipping his tea.

Rose chuckled. “You don’t have to pretend to be a little innocent lamb, Doctor,” she teased. “I know better than that.”

“Did you know,” the Master started, “that he once crippled the whole science section to avoid a test from happening.”

Rose’s eyes grew at that. “You did?”

“I hadn’t had the time to study for it!” the Doctor immediately defended. “My teacher had given me a task that consumed an outrageous amount of time so that I wouldn’t have enough time for the science test! She had it in for me, I tell you that.”

“Yeah, you see,” the Master drawled, “what he left out in this, is that this task was already an extra exercise.”

“For wha’?!” Rose laughed amused.

“I told you, she was gunning for me!” the Doctor repeated.

“He had made her desk explode,” the Master simply answered.

“Doctor!” Rose gasped scandalised.

“Not while she was on it!” the defence continued but he sagged a little after it. “Thinking about it now, we really didn’t have the best relationship. But she had it coming, really. She was _very_ unpleasant. And didn’t know how to teach! The academy suspended her a year later, so I couldn’t have been that wrong.”

“Why was she suspended?” Rose asked.

“Something about an important test having the strangest mistakes which casted a poor light on the whole academy, I dunno.”

“Oh,” the Master made perplexed.

The Doctor blinked at him after a pause. “What?”

The Master’s eyes switched from him to Rose to him again. “Did I never tell you that _I_ messed with that test?”

The Doctor’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious now?”

“Well, yeah,” he drawled while biting his bottom lip.

“This is quite harsh,” Rose considered.

“ _How_ did I not know?” the Doctor threw in.

“We probably had a fight and weren’t talking,” the Master shrugged before turning to Rose. “And the Doctor was right about her being insufferable. Believe me, she deserved it.”

Rose threw her hands up. “Whatever you guys say. God knows, _I_ cursed some teachers back in the day. But when I wanted to avoid a test, I simply swung the lead.”

“Well, the Doctor is a drama queen,” the Master added casually.

“Oh, and _you’re_ not,” his counterpart mocked.

“You’re both having your moments, actually,” Rose shrugged.

There followed vivid objections from both parts that led to a discussion about it and the evening continued this way until Rose felt herself nodding off. This had been a brilliant evening, to be honest. She had enjoyed it being so relaxed with all the three of them getting along and learning some things about their past. In the end, she was perfectly satisfied listening to their voices which were both so intimately familiar. She didn’t process their words anymore until she was far, far away.

At some point she felt hands in her hair, gently stroking them. “Do you want to go to bed?” she heard the Doctor’s mumbling voice.

“’m comfy,” she slurred, hugging her blanket tighter.

“Okay,” he whispered, and she felt his slightly cooler lips pressing against his forehead. After that, she was asleep again.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

“She’s so innocent,” the Master couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth, as he watched the Doctor crouching beside her on the floor, stroking her hair.

“She is,” he simply answered, not looking up.

“Is that why we’re drawn to her?” he dared to ask, because in that moment, he seriously wanted to know the answer to that fucking question. “We are anything but, having masses of blood on our hands.”

“I don’t know,” the Doctor continued just as quietly. “But you’re usually not drawn to innocence.”

He let that sink in for a moment. “No,” he finally agreed. “But she somehow makes it look like a virtue. Makes it look strong.”

“She is,” he confirmed.

She was. And the Doctor was so desperately in love with it. You could see it in every one of his movements and gestures. And the Master wasn’t sure if he was jealous or if he pitied him. (And if he was jealous – if it was because of his relationship with Rose or his ability to feel these kinds of emotions in the first place.)


	4. Night Grows Cold

The easiness of them being together continued and it was so natural most of the time, she only sometimes was fascinated by it.

Which didn’t mean they didn’t bicker.

“Just _wait_ , would you?” the Doctor called out annoyed.

“You just don’t want me to have access to certain systems so that I don’t acquaint myself with them, but newsflash, Doctor! I was in control of the TARDIS for over a year, I already know them all!”

“ _Fine_ ,” the Doctor hissed, obviously being fed up with his nagging, and threw a tool to him. “Go! Repair it.”

“You know what would make this faster?”

“What?!” he spat.

“If I had my screwdriver.”

The Doctor stared at the other Time Lord with utter annoyance, the Master gazed nearly expressionless back. Rose almost heard a clock ticking even though there was none in the room.

After God knows how long, the Master threw the tool carelessly into a corner. “Whatever,” he sighed. “I fixed it days ago, I was just bored.” With a heavy sigh, he sunk into the jump seat, crossing his arms.

The Doctor blinked. “You fixed it? Why does it show malfunctions?”

“They’re fake,” the Master explained. “It was just an attempt to get my screwdriver.”

“You _fixed_ the malfunctions to _fake_ them afterwards?” the Doctor asked in disbelieve.

“ _Really_ bored,” the Master commented.

Rose wasn’t sure if a giggle was appropriate, but it escaped nonetheless. Until the Doctor was frowning due to some beeping sounds. “There’s an incoming distress signal,” he informed them.

“Thank goodness,” the Master groaned, straightening himself.

“What does it say?” Rose was coming up to the Doctor. He simply turned on the video. There were screams. Explosions. Someone calling for help.

“Sounds like a party,” was the Master’s dry commentary.

“We’ going, yeah?” Rose wanted to affirm.

The Doctor pushed a lever. “Most definitely.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The signal was coming from a planet that was aware of aliens and stuff without having developed outer space traveling. The people were almost looking human (Time Lord), but they had been devastated on the video. The signal had been transmitted from one of the buildings where the government was located.

“You sure we can just go out there? It’s plain chaos,” Rose asked a little hesitant.

“We’ll have a quick look,” the Doctor answered. “To see what’s what.”

Well, opening the door didn’t quite met their expectations. They were scurrying, all right. But no one was hurt, there was no fire, and the three of them were spotted with big surprised eyes. “Who the hell are you?” A woman stepped forwards. Her raven black hair was tied to a bun. Her features were dainty, but her look was hard and dead serious.

“Ahem, hello,” the Doctor started, obviously trying to figure out what went wrong. “I’m the Doctor, this is Rose. And this is the Master. We were receiving a distress signal from you.”

“Distress? We were not sending any distress signal.”

“Maybe you got the time wrong,” the Master commented.

“Well,” a male voice spoke up, “it _is_ very curious, because we _do_ have a situation here, in a sense.”

“What situation?” the Doctor asked instantly, while Rose observed the Master strolling around, examining their whereabouts.

The woman sighed strained. “Our president. And other members of the cabinet … just vanished.”

“What do you mean, vanished?”

“Just what I said. They disappeared in a blink of an eye. Gone.”

The Doctors eyes went wide, and he pulled out a small screen out of his pocket. “Here I’m gonna show you the distress signal.”

Rose watched them as the screams of the people rang out. And the face of the woman turned into shock. “There they are! But … that never happened! Here wasn’t any gunfire.”

“Well, at some time there was. Or will be. Not sure.” The Doctor turned it off and put it back into his coat while he walked into the middle of the room.

“The room in the video isn’t this room, is it?” the Master asked from the background.

The woman paused, having her arms crossed. “No,” she finally answered. “It isn’t.”

“Look,” the Doctor said and draw her attention to him again. “Something obviously happened to your people and if you want it – we would like to help.”

“Why?” she asked suspiciously.

“That’s kind of what we do,” Rose filled in. “We mean you no harm, I swear.” Rose didn’t know how to interpret this woman. She suspected she was just careful, trying to protect her people, but there was an annoyance underneath it that rubbed her the wrong way.

“Hey, where is the third one of you?” someone suddenly said.

The black-haired women raised a brow. “That how you help? Sneaking around without permission?”

The Doctor groaned. “Typical.”

“You two, go search for him,” the women ordered two officers.

“What was your name again?” the Doctor wanted to know.

“Nisha,” she simply answered.

“Nisha. Great. Nice to meet you,” he greeted gushily the way he typically does. “Strictly speaking, you didn’t s _ay_ that we weren’t allowed to wander off and that’s the reason he did that, but he won’t cause trouble.”

“You sure about that?” Rose quipped only half joking.

The Doctor sighed. “Would you look after him?”

“Sure thing.” She reached for his hand, squeezing it reassuringly before following the other two men.

He smiled warmly at her before continuing. “I’d like to have access on your computer if you let me. I want to check from where the distress signal was sent.”

There was hesitation, but Nisha finally gave an agreeing nod.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose walked behind the other men, taking in the environment when she was suddenly grabbed by her arm and dragged into a room. It happened so fast, she barely had time to react. Luckily, it was only the Master.

She sighed. “Seriously? You want to make this harder? Why the hide and seek?”

“They slow everything down,” he justified. “And I think I found the room, because that door,” he pointed in the direction, “is closed.”

That’s the first time she took in where they were. There wasn’t much in this room but some shelves, a closet, a few plants and a console. Everything was painted in beige shades. “If it’s closed, how do you wanna open it?”

There was a grin forming in his face which sparkled in his eyes. She rather felt than saw his hand ghosting along her side (she was somehow caught up in his expression), until it reached the screwdriver on her belt. He gently tugged it (fully aware he wouldn’t be able to separate it from the belt), pulling her closer into him. “Since you mentioned it,” he murmured and she didn’t know why, but it all felt a little more wicked than it should, “your pretty device here is not bad at opening doors.”

“Okay, fine,” she said quietly and stepped out of his personal space to point the screwdriver at the door. But nothing happened.

“Well, damn,” the Master said. “Isn’t that suspicious. Let’s have a look at the console.”

“Why the secretiveness?” Rose argued. “Can’t we just…”

A finger landed on her mouth. “Hush now, little one. _My_ way.” He gestured to the console. “Scan it, please.”

She sighed but did as she was told. Maybe it was suspicious and maybe they would find something out. Because somehow, she also thought something was very wrong here. Maybe the Master’s way was the right one here. While scanning, she felt his hand enveloping hers, which held the screwdriver, moving it a little so he could read it. “Hm,” she heard his voice beside her ear, “maybe we could...” he mused but there were voices coming closer. She was suddenly pushed in the other direction and she only realized what he was doing after she found herself in the closet and he followed shortly after, shutting the door close.

_Perfect. Ab-so-lutely perfect._

She saw his grin in the very dim light and it took all her willpower to not shove him away (he would fall straight out of the closet … which was actually a quite funny vision). “Don’t,” she hissed, eyes rolling.

“I’m not saying anything,” he murmured, not breaking his grin.

“You don’t have to,” she sighed, but then fell silent as men came into the room, talking something she couldn’t understand, even though she tried. Only then she felt him still touching her from when he had pushed her inside. His hands were on her hips, making no attempt to remove them. She was at eye level with his neck, so close, she only would have to lean forwards a bit to touch it (and she didn’t want to know where that thought had come from). That was why she felt his breath on her ear.

Their relationship was so bloody strange. They had gone from fighting each other to making heavily out to the point it was barely PG-rated and now they were … this. Unspecified.

That she looked up to see his face wasn’t even conscious. She just was searching for something. Answers, perhaps. He seemed a bit irritated by her movement at first, brows knitted ever so slightly. She just stared up, big eyes examining him. His confusion lifted a bit, his brown eyes resting on her, mirroring the same searching look. They were on the same page right now. Trying to find out what they were, if the intimacy they felt in each other’s arms was something they wanted or not.

His lips parted a little. “Rose …” he whispered barely audible.

She swallowed. “They’re gone,” she informed him. “The guards are gone.”

His mouth shut close. “Right,” he finally said, looking away. His hands left her hips and opened the closet to step out. “I have an idea to open that door,” he said while stepping in front of the console. “I’m going to guide you, show me your screwdriver.”

And she did, pointing her screwdriver while he was explaining or guiding her fingers. “You know, this would be much easier if you would simply let me have access,” he remarked at some point.

She didn’t answer straight away. Because part of her wondered if she should just do it. Was there really any risk? She wasn’t sure anymore if following that chain of thought was being naïve or a justified conclusion. Would it be so bad to give him access? She was almost scared for a second that she was obviously unable to judge.

“Yes,” she eventually stated. “It would.” She didn’t make a move to give him access. She simply had made a statement.

It worked anyway. After some configurations, the door opened. “Open Sesame,” the Master commented while walking inside.

She followed him, trying to recognize the room. “It’s it, innit? The room from the video …”

“Yep.”

There was more to it. She almost felt uneasy entering. “Why hide it?”

“Excellent question, petal.”

“Maybe because something strange happened here,” another voice spoke up, “and it’s quarantined.” Nisha was standing in the door frame, obviously displeased.

“This door wasn’t simply closed,” the Master answered. “There was a containment field. One whose technology doesn’t quite fit in here.”

“It doesn’t?” Rose asked surprised.

He shook his head. “Far too advanced. Someone wanted to shut everyone out.”

“Yeah and _someone_ doesn’t belong here anyway,” she shot back. “Go deal with your own problems!”

Rose wrinkled her brows, trying to focus on her but the woman suddenly blinked like a hologram. “Wha’…” she let out quietly, but they didn’t seem to hear her. And the Master obviously hadn’t seen anything because he didn’t react to it. Suddenly the whole room started to flicker as well, the sound shuddering, and it spun her head in a way that made everything black. Until she crashed down.

“ _Something_ happened here and either you are ignorant, or you know more than you let on. Because I get the feeling _we_ are not the only ones who don’t belong here,” the Master had told her when he saw the blonde girl faltering out of the corner of his eyes. “Rose?” he only just said before she crashed down. “Rose!” He caught her just in time, landing on his knees, holding her in his lap. He stroked some strands out of her unconscious face. “Rose, what’s wrong?” Concern and shock were reflecting in his voice, as he felt the pulse at her neck which was at least steady. His hand slid up her face again, holding her cheek. “Rose, please …”

“Well, well, well,” he heard Nisha’s voice as she stepped closer. “And here I thought she was with the other one. Now I’m just confused.” Something about her attitude was wrong. She was almost casual and a bit detached.

“What’s wrong with her?” he hissed darkly.

“Believe it or not, I don’t know,” she shrugged, but it was obvious that she didn’t care.

“But you know what happened here, don’t you?”

“You know, I don’t know who you people are, but did you _have_ to come here?” she nagged. “God damnit, you _bug_ me.”

“Who the fuck are you?” he growled.

“Step away from them,” the Doctor’s grave voice appeared. He was pointing his screwdriver at her.

“Tell me you have some information,” the Master requested.

“She only arrived here a few months back,” he elaborated, not letting her out of sight. “No data from before that. And she’s not one of them. She’s something else.”

She didn’t move but had her arms crossed in a way that showed how little she minded. “If I had known you would bother to show up, I would’ve covered my tracks better. But who expects something like that.”

“What happened to Rose?” the Doctor demanded icily.

She shrugged and looked at her. “I don’t know, but her boyfriend seems to take care of her.” There was a dark grin in her eyes as she looked at the Doctor again.

He was almost frozen, not reacting to her words. He was still analysing the information he was getting. One, she wasn’t afraid. Two, she was trying to play them off against each other. Three, she maybe really had no clue what was happening to Rose. “There is a temporal distortion in here,” he eventually informed her. “So let me guess. The missing people _are_ in here. Just not in our stream of time.”

Her head fell a bit in her neck. “Ooh, he’s a _clever_ one,” she praised, even though her voice was still mocking.

Suddenly, Rose stirred in the Master’s arms. He instantly supported her head. “Out of sync,” she mumbled a little out of it, before she focused on him, looking a bit confused. “Master?”

“I’m here,” he assured her. “And I think you make sense even when you’re unconscious.” He looked pointedly at the Doctor.

“Out of sync,” he repeated, understanding. “ _You_ made this. Brought the people out of sync. For … what? A second?”

“Millisecond, actually.”

“How do you do it? And why?”

“You don’t belong,” Rose said frowning, observing her. “Anywhere. You’re out of time. You are and aren’t at the same time.”

The black-haired women stared at the blonde one. “You hit your head or something?” she countered drily.

“You vanish …” Rose voice started to tremble with realisation, “… into the night.”

The Doctor gasped. “Nisha …”

“Another name for ‘night’,” the Master filled in.

“Night will come,” Rose started to recite more for herself, “the wolf will rise; it ends the song with golden eyes.”

“And people say _I’m_ the creepy one,” she commented blinking.

“ _Shoot_ her,” the Master ordered immediately.

“I’ll be gone before whatever hits me,” she shot back.

“Tell me _why_ you are doing this?” the Doctor prompted, and the Master recognized the desperation behind it, but also his naïve hope that she maybe wasn’t a bad person. But the Master recognized bad when he saw it. He recognized hunger and darkness, because he knew it so well.

She shrugged again. “Because I can.”

“Darkness,” Rose spoke up again and the Master felt her not for the first time bristling. Her mind reached out to his but also to everything else. Something was clearly happening to her. “Chaos. You thrive on it.”

Her grin was cold. “Yes, princess, I get a kick out of it,” she admitted.

“How is your connection to Rose?” the Doctor asked directly even though he doubted getting an answer for various reasons.

“Connection? Folks, you burst into _my_ project, I didn’t _ask_ you to ruin everything! But you _are_ quite interesting, I’ll give you that. What are you?”

“You haven’t told us what you are,” the Master intervened.

“The girl pretty much summed it up,” she answered. “I’m not really there. Not when I don’t want to be. I can twist existence and time at my will.”

“No one has that much power,” the Doctor disagreed.

“ _You_ certainly have,” she grinned. “So. Who are you?”

The Doctor never let his screwdriver sink. “We’re Time Lords.”

Realisation hit her and lit up her face. “Of _course_!” she rejoiced, dipping her knees lightly. “I should’ve known. Thing is, legend has it you’re all dead, so … one doesn’t really cross paths with you anymore. But sure …” she shrugged, “the power, the knowledge, the handsome aura…” Her grin was intendedly flirtatious. “But _she_ is something else.” She pointed at Rose. “I wonder what would happen if I tear her apart.”

The Master’s grip on Rose tightened the same time, the Doctor took a step forward. “You’ll never come close enough to even touch her.”

“I bet time would erupt,” she chuckled lightly.

“You need a fucking manual, Doctor?” the Master growled. “Kill her already!”

“She can’t be shot, can you?” Rose interposed.

“Yes honey, I believe you’re the only one who gets me. You can explain your lovers the drill, would you?”

“She leaves chaos everywhere she goes,” Rose started, suddenly talking more firmly again. “She wants to destabilize this government. We have to bring these people back.” With that, she stood up again, walking determined to another computer panel.

“Oh please,” Nisha chuckled. “Like you ever-” She was cut off by a laser beam which shot right through where she was talking just a second ago. The Doctor flinched out of reflex, but his eyes grew bigger as he realised that Rose has been the one shooting. Nisha, on the other hand, was just gone.

“Rose?” the Doctor inquired perplexed.

“I knew I couldn’t shoot her, but I wanted her gone,” she answered his unspoken question. “Doctor, we _need_ to get this people back, they’re in horror. I think something is attacking them _right now_ in the other stream of time. We have to get them back in _this_ one.”

He blinked. “Okay,” he said still stunned. “Then we’ll do that.” And he joined her on the console.

They all worked at full tilt, throwing ideas into the room, but Rose couldn’t help but feel the Doctor’s eyes on her again and again. In a way, she felt observed und studied. And she wished she could explain to him what she had felt or what was happening, but she couldn’t wrap her head around it herself. She felt different, right now. Like she was in a weird mood.

Still, they did what they have always done. Try and help people.

The Master on the other hand, was a different story. She watched him for a moment, working on the computer system. He seemed concentrated. She wondered why.

She came up to him, so she was standing right beside him. “You don’t really care for these people, do you?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t look up. “Can’t say that I do, no.”

“Then why are you helping?”

He did look at her then. Frowning. “I’m helping you guys for a while now. If you haven’t noticed.”

She leaned forwards, obviously irritating him with the closeness. Under normal circumstances she would be irritated, too. “And why do you do that?” she almost whispered.

His look got more serious. “Rose, what’s going on with you?” he asked lowly. “Your mind is sizzling.”

“Is it?” she asked in fact surprised. “Is that why I feel so weird?”

“Weird, how?” he wanted to know.

“I dunno.”

His hand drew up her cheek to her temple and she sighed as he touched her mind. Her eyes fell shut. “This always feels unbelievably good,” she murmured, and the Master was torn between getting exited, and not ignoring all the warning signs flashing up. Her lids were opening but still heavy. “Does it feel good for you, too?”

His hand instantly pulled back from her. “Okay, first we save these no-names here, and then we urgently have to find out what the fuck is wrong with you.”

“Why?” she asked with utter innocence. “What have I done?”

“Go find the Doctor and let me work,” he spit a bit more gruffly than he ought to, but whatever was happening to her right now, it unsettled him in a way neither of them would like. And he needed her gone.

Luckily, she did what she was told.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

They weren’t so lucky with the rest.

“It won’t work!” the Doctor ranted, a hand driving through his hair, leaving it a mess. “These kinds of things are tricky, she is the only one who knows exactly what she has done and therefore is the only one to get them back.”

“ _Or_ someone with the same ability,” the Master threw in.

“You know someone?” the Doctor asked as if he knew the answer was no.

But the Master reluctantly nodded towards Rose. His arms were crossed, his whole demeanour was very restrained. “I believe she _could_. I’m not sure, something here triggered something in her, and I would have to see if I could guide her. I’m not sure if she can handle it, but it’s worth a try.”

The Doctor peered over to Rose. The Master was not the only one recognizing she was acting a bit different. The Master’s plan would maybe simultaneously explain what had happened.

“You think I could do _that_?” Rose asked incredulously. “Don’t you think that’s outta my league?”

The Master shrugged. “We’ll find out.”

“We should go back to the TARDIS and into the Vortex,” the Doctor added. “So we don’t waste time here and we come back a second later.”

“Let’s go,” the Master answered, leading the way without looking at someone of them.

They entered the TARDIS and the door fell shut as the Doctor went to the console. “I’m gonna bring us out of here. You two start working.”

The Master seriously would have been okay to just start here, but Rose obviously had other plans. She walked to the Doctor, gently taking his face in her hands. “We’re just next door. Literally.” And with that, she stood on her toes to kiss him. Deeply.

Why did this all strike the Master as odd? Sure, he didn’t enjoy watching them snogging, but all this seemed a bit too much like a show. And the Doctor was confused at first as well but then obviously went with it.

And when she finally walked past him, he couldn’t interpret her expression. So he followed her to her room which the TARDIS had positioned just the next door.

“So,” she said eagerly. “Let’s start. There are people to be rescued.”

“Yeah. People,” the Master echoed. His hand reached for her temples, keen on seeing what had happened to her. He didn’t bother sitting down, so they were just standing. As his fingertips touched her, she sighed sensually again, not trying to hide her sensations like she always did. He normally would enjoy that, but something was obviously off.

Her dazzling mind came towards him, washing over him as they connected. It was like everything inside her was moving, chaotically buzzing around. “Girl, what happened?” he sighed, trying to make sense of it.

She hummed, and he felt her hands first landing on his sides and then slowly wandering up. “Don’t be so confused,” she whispered, she had been getting closer. “Tell me how it feels.” Her hands were on his shoulders, still wandering higher. “You always feel und see it differently.”

His eyes had been closed but he opened them again. She was right in front of him, looking up. “You don’t feel it _that_ differently, you know,” he murmured. “And you start to see it like me, too.”

“Tell me anyway,” she demanded softly, and her fingers ghosted over his temples.

“Tell me what’s going on with you,” he asked instead, but barely reached a whisper.

“ _You’re_ supposed to tell _me_ ,” she chuckled a bit, but her hands were cradling his cheeks, trying to seduce him. And he had a real hard time resisting. “Every time you touch my mind, get inside me…” she murmured, coming closer. “I also want you to touch my body. That’s why I let you get away with all these little sensual touches of yours, when you try to steal these little moments.” The truth was, his mind was spinning a bit. Out of opportunities, but also because _her_ mind was spinning. She came still closer, and her mouth hovered over his, slightly open. “I _want_ you to steal them,” she confessed, and he knew she would kiss him.

But something telling him this wasn’t real, helped him not to get lost in it. That and the fact that he was smelling the Doctor. “If you wanted to kiss me, you maybe shouldn’t have snogged the Doctor just before,” he said a lot cooler than he was.

That indeed stopped her. She froze and pulled her head back a little. He didn’t expect her to chuckle again. “You know that your jealousy can be quite a turn-on?” she continued. Her head fell into her neck, as she leaned forward again. “I know that you desire me.”

He couldn’t work with her like that. He needed to get deeper into her mind to find out what’s what, but when she was acting this way, this whole thing was a bad idea. He instantly disconnected them, slipping out of her essence, hearing her moan in displeasure. “We are not doing this here,” he decided and walked to the door, already contemplating how to tell the Doctor what was going on. But he didn’t come far. The door was locked.

Slowly he turned around, looking dangerously sinister. “Why?” he growled. Not that he normally would complain being stuck in a room with Rose, but he was totally out of the loop of what was going on here.

She snickered again. “This look kinda gets me goin’.”

He twirled around, rattling at the doorknob harder without success. “Why does the TARDIS help you with this?”

“We wanted to find out what was going on with me, didn’t we?” she grinned and went down on the ground pad, eventually lying on her back. “Let me remember … I need to relax my body if I want to relax my mind, right?” She stretched out her hand to him. “Help me relax.”

He was motionless for a second, but actually started to chuckle, not believing the situation he found himself in. “Are your inhibitions loose, is that it?” he speculated.

“I guess you have to find out,” she prompted him.

“You know that nothing will happen, because normally, you would never want this,” he told her.

“But I _do_ want it,” she purred. “Come and find out?”

“You get up,” he demanded.

“I certainly won’t,” she grinned and leaned back. “You remember when you told me you would get up to my head, because I wouldn’t like the alternative? Well, maybe I would have.”

“You would have _not_ ,” he snorted.

“You very obviously got me aroused, you know.”

“I very obviously got you angry,” he countered.

“I wasn’t angry,” she disagreed. “Not with you. I was angry, because I liked it so much.”

He sighed in annoyance. “Yeah, I got that message, we talked this out already.”

“The door won’t open until you come here.”

“You know what, what do I care? Like we established, I don’t care about these people.”

“But _I_ do,” she said with big eyes.

“Then you shouldn’t make this so hard,” he shot back.

“You know, I feel a bit out of it,” she started.

“No shit,” the Master threw in between.

“I’ll just take a nap.” With that, she curled up to her side and closed her eyes.

The Master watched her for a second. Ten seconds. Twenty. “Are you serious?” he groaned, but she didn’t react. Okay, this was beyond childish. What was he afraid of? He had to find out what caused this behaviour of hers.

So he found himself at her feet. And actually bent down. His arms were wandering up, each beside her body, so he hovered over her, seeing her open her eyes and smiling. For a moment, he saw the Rose he knew, bright and warm smile enlightening her face. She turned so that she lay on her back, with him hovering above her, standing on his hands and knees. Her hand came up, carefully stroking over his cheek and ghosting over his mouth. “I like your smile,” she confessed. “I’m sure you already know this, but I know you like to hear these things too.”

“Must be your inhibitions,” he whispered, trying to figure her out, but ending up taking in all the little details of her face.

Her hand wandered lower and was being joined by her second one. They wandered along his abdomen and came dangerously close to the end of his T-shirt. “Don’t,” he stopped her instantly and sighed. It had been difficult enough to gain her trust again after the last time, he really didn’t need a repetition of this. His hands finally found her temples again and he connected them. They both sighed simultaneously, and he absently felt her stroke his sides. “Any particular reason you want to torture me?” he asked a little breathless.

He didn’t know if she had answered something. He was squirming his way through her mind which was majorly uncoordinated. But the more he swam through it, the more she seemed to like it. She moved somehow or maybe just squirmed a little, he wasn’t really aware. He only was aware of her voice again, as she spoke. “Don’t stop,” she moaned.

“Rose…” he objected hesitantly. “Something is wrong. There’s something in here …”

Her finger landed on his mouth, cutting him off. “Shut up,” she sighed. And her lips caught his, before he understood what was happening.

And as he understood it, he understood nothing else.

He tasted her hormones and her arousal as her tongue touched his. It exploded on his nerve endings and for a moment, he couldn’t move his mouth, only processing hers sucking on his and how unbelievably good it felt. All these memories, all these pesky feelings – came crushing back. He had fucking missed her.

_Oooooh shit._

He pulled back his head, but she already caught it in her hands. “Stop,” he growled.

“You want this, you’re never shy on letting me know this,” she objected. “And I want you, too.”

This was the worst shit ever. He _wanted_ her to say this. Other circumstances, and he would have her screaming his name within the next minutes, but this …

She pulled him closer. “Master …” she sighed like on command.

“Stop it,” he spat. “You’re using my thoughts against me. Why?”

“I’m only telling the truth,” she told him. “I’ve dreamed about this. Had fantasies about it. They’re well hidden.” She pushed herself up to him, and he turned his head to the side to prevent her from kissing him again. She ended up whispering in his ear. “I know you dreamt about this as well. You told me, once. That you pleasured yourself thinking about me.” His eyes fell shut. He should either go or find out what was wrong with her. And somehow, he did neither. He felt her softly kiss his jaw, and he _wanted_ to melt into it, he _wanted_ to give in.

_Screw the consequences, just fucking take what you want._

“Do you remember what I admitted to?” she asked quietly.

As if he could forget. “That you get off on the thought. Of me pleasuring myself while thinking about you.”

He saw her smile out of the corners of his eyes. “You see?” she asked, and her hand gently came up to his cheek. Her lips found his jaw again, kissing it equally gentle. “It’s nothing new.” Her next kiss was next to the last one. “Being in the centre of your attention…” Her kisses in-between were wandering further to his mouth. “You taking control…” She caught the corner of his mouth. “She likes that …”

When she now pressed her lips against his, he was again frozen. For a different reason. His hands finally caught her head, holding it down while he observed her from a safe distance. “ _She_ likes it?” he quoted. “Interesting. Do you mind telling me who the fuck _you_ are, then?”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Her smile was so unlike Rose, it made him wonder why he hadn’t considered this possibility earlier. “I’m Rose,” she still said. “You know me for a while now.”

“Something is in her head or messing with it,” he countered. “ _You_ certainly aren’t Rose.”

“Wrong,” she hooted. “I remember everything, every feeling, every sensation.” Her finger wandered down his chest. “Every desire.”

The Master frowned, shaking his head slightly. “Why would you …” Her smile was almost dark. Just like … “Nisha,” he realised.

But she shook her head yet again. “I’m not Nisha.”

“But she planted something in your head.”

She shrugged, lips casually pursed. “Maybe. I dunno and don’t care, I feel great. This body has so much power. But then,” her hand spread across his abdomen, “you already knew that.” Her smile blossomed to full seduction. “That’s why you’re drawn to her, isn’t it?”

Well, wasn’t this situation bonkers. “I guess you’re not interested in saving these people, are you?” he asked drily.

“Not really. But I’m up for a little mental trial of strength. Are you?” she challenged while pointedly lifting her knee to his crotch.

She didn’t find anything. His almost bored expression looked back at her. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“My, I believe you really like _her_ , don’t you? Despite you don’t believe yourself being capable of such emotions.”

“Oh, stop _yapping_ ,” he spat annoyed and drove inside her mind without warning. This was decidedly different. Her mental defences came up and she fought him instantly, pushing against him. He felt his stomach contract in dread for a second. He had never forced himself on her. He could be accused of many things, but he never forced himself inside her if she didn’t want to. He reminded himself that this was different. He wasn’t fighting Rose. He was fighting Nisha. And she was damn strong.

She attacked his essence and tried to strangle the power out of him. He drew back again and again to recognize her movements, distinct the new elements from Rose. He learned. Predicted her attacks, shielding himself.

“You’re annoying,” she scolded and in the next moment, he felt a sharp pain, making him groan. But that was nothing compared to the next feeling. She ripped at his essence, pulling it away. Into nothingness. He felt himself flicker out of existence and wanted immediately to withdraw, jerking back in utter shock. She sat up in the same movement, using her hands to shove him on the ground. “Already enough?” she mocked. She was sitting on him the next instance, clutching his head, sending knives into his head, tearing at him yet again. He roared against his teeth, trying to fight her, to push her out. He wanted to get past her wall, but every weakness he found pushed her back for only a moment. She sighed against his face. “So much power here,” she said in awe. That’s when he saw something else but her in Rose’s mind. And that was a golden glimpse.

He reached out to it.

And somehow Nisha’s walls began to crumble. When he pushed against them now, they just fell apart. She cursed, trying to fight it. “That’s right,” he panted a little smug. “So much power. _Her_ power. Not yours.” He had never had a better relationship to Bad Wolf than right now. Normally he felt it not being completely comfortable with him being in Rose’s mind. Right now, they worked beautifully together.

“Not hers,” she gasped. “She can’t handle it. And I have access, too.”

His hands on her temples gripped her harder and he bored into her eyes. “But she is _stronger_.” And with that, she was torn away from him, landing on her back. He wasn’t sure, but somehow he knew Bad Wolf hadn’t come on his own. Rose had helped somehow. He was standing up, feeling triumphant, grinning down at her. That look however, vanished as soon his legs seemed to give in. He didn’t understand why he was sagging to the ground on his knees, but all his power seemed gone.

As she saw this, she began to chuckle. “Look at you,” she said after straitening up again. “I guess you are the weakest out of the three of us. A little touch of Bad Wolf and you collapse.”

It wasn’t just Bad Wolf. It was her tearing at his essence. But yeah, his body obviously couldn’t handle being mixed up with Bad Wolf.

“So there goes your dream of getting her power somehow,” she snickered. “But then again,” she continued, grabbing a heavy book from a shelve, “you never had a chance with her in the first place.” She turned around, walking towards him. “She really feels these things I told you.” He had trouble focusing on her, his vision blurring. “But she’ll only ever love the Doctor.” And with that, the book in her hand crashed against his scull with full force.

He was gone after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh.
> 
> Love you guys <3


	5. Night Walks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered splitting this chapter up, but ... what the hell, here you have the whole thing, it belongs together anyway^^

She knew she wasn’t Nisha. Nisha was elsewhere. But it felt like she left something in this mind. And she wanted to know how much power she had. Bad Wolf was restive. And it seemed to have in fact a soft spot for Rose. But she was Rose, wasn’t she? A new version of her.

She walked into the control room, seeing the Doctor hovering above the console and couldn’t help but grin at this sight. The desire to mess with them was certainly Nisha’s influence.

As she approached him, he looked up, appearing a bit stressed. “I was planning on sending a search party after you. Where is the Master?”

She shrugged. “He had to lay down. He burned off energy.” She stepped in front of him. “Sorry for being so late, we got a little distracted.”

He was frowning, irritated by her phrasing. “The people aren’t back,” he referred to the planet. “Didn’t it work?”

“Sadly, no,” she told him. “The Master searched me … thoroughly. But I don’t seem to have the power.”

She was still behaving a bit off too, the Doctor noticed. Her hand came up to slide over his suit jacket and he didn’t know whether her looking at him as if she wanted to eat him for dessert should be alarming or not. “Rose, we should find a solution first.”

“Why?” she wanted to know. “We’re in the time vortex. Time isn’t running away on the planet.”

 _She_ was the driving force to instantly save them in the first place. Didn’t she care anymore? Of course, she wasn’t wrong. They _were_ in the time vortex. “Did the Master find out what happened to _you_?”

“I was shaken up, is all. My mind was a bit disorientated. But I’m fine now.”

“Maybe I should talk to him,” he said looking into the corridor, but she pushed his head back in her direction. “Seriously, Doctor? You think about the Master when _I_ am standing in front of you? Maybe I should worry about you two,” she managed to say in good humour.

His brows shot up. “You really _don’t_.”

She chuckled. And placed her hand gently on his cheek. “I love you,” she empathised.

She felt the tension leaving his muscles. “I love you, too,” he whispered barely audible.

She enjoyed feeling him relax. Because now she could do this.

Her lips met his in an intimate, open kiss, but unsurprisingly, he jerked his head back after a second. “What is it?” she asked in utter innocence.

There were so many emotions flickering over his face, it was a joy. Shock, hurt, betrayal, consideration, everything. “You kissed him,” he revealed after a pause.

She blinked at him. “Yeah,” she said like it was nothing. “We do that, at times.”

He looked at her as if he didn’t understand a word she just said. Was this real? And if it was, was it okay? He knew this whole mind sharing was partly intimate. If she didn’t see it as a big deal, should he? “You never told me,” he said instead.

“I thought you knew,” she answered. “I mean, it’s hard enough sometimes to not jump his bones.”

He was so shocked at this unexpected turn of events, he didn’t even notice that she normally wouldn’t say things like that, even if that were the case. “Okay, I’m not sure what to respond and that means something with me being me.” He turned to the console, pushing some buttons.

Her hand landed on his shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, Doctor,” she assured him.

“Hmm-hmm,” he made, slowly catching up.

“It’s just to relieve some tensiaaaah!” She fell straight to the floor, some tool had hit her with something. She had trouble moving her limbs.

He bent over her. “It won’t cause permanent damage to you. Or better Rose. I don’t know exactly what _you_ are.”

She chuckled. “You were a lot faster than the Master to figure that out.”

“Well, although he would disagree, I know Rose a lot better than he does. But congratulations, the timing of the kiss was spot-on. Threw me for a loop.”

“I’m still practising,” she quipped.

“You won’t anymore,” he promised darkly. “I’m gonna contain you. And I guess the Master is somewhere unconscious or locked away.”

She shrugged. “Good guess.”

He heaved her into his arms, bringing her to the infirmary to bend her down, so she wouldn’t flee. Then he looked at a console that was supposed to tell him where the Master was.

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The Master woke up with a booming throbbing in his head. For a second he thought the drums were back.

But no. Just his head feeling like it would explode any second. Holy crap, what a trip.

She was gone, obviously. Which left him alone in a presumably still locked room. He had trouble standing up and wobbled to the door only to find what he was already suspecting. It was still locked. His flat hands landed on the door, as did his head as he leaned against it. He let out a deep groan. “Why do you help her?” he scolded the TARDIS. “Whose side are you on?”

The thing was, it was all a mess.

Rose was a little connected to the TARDIS because of Bad Wolf. But Bad Wolf wasn’t the TARDIS. Even though they somehow belonged together. And now Nisha (or part of Nisha) had access to Bad Wolf as well. So she had some access to the TARDIS. Maybe it was all a contest of who would come out on top.

 _He_ obviously wouldn’t.

He slid to the ground, landing on his knees, and tried to get a connection to the TARDIS. “She has Rose,” he whispered. “And Rose can kick arse, but she’s only just discovering her power. Nisha is corrupting Bad Wolf. She is corrupting you.”

His hand came back to the door, his eyes fell shut. He became even quieter. “After all the shit we’ve been through … I can’t lose her,” he confessed so faintly, he barely heard himself. “Not yet. Please help me out here.”

He felt something shift in his mind before he heard the door click open. A smile returned to his lips as he stood up, used the doorknob and went through it.

And was greeted with the bedroom of the Doctor and Rose. The Master froze for a second. “You’re messing with the rooms? You want to tell me something?”

He slowly entered further into the room. Seriously, it was a mess. They both put no value to tidiness. He let his look roam over the desk and the dresser where a number of pictures were placed. This was definitely Rose’s style, the Doctor wasn’t very nostalgic. He was about to turn around when he realised that _he_ was in those pictures as well. One with the three of them. They had landed in Rome – accidently – and a tourist asked if he should take a photo of them. He and the Doctor had other ideas, but Rose was quick at approving, and so this picture was born. He almost forgot about this. The other one was only with him and Rose. He didn’t even know this one existed. It was near a waterfall three times the size of the Niagara Falls. There was again an accident (there seemed to be a pattern) which got them wet to the bones. But it was a stupid mistake and they were laughing their arses off about their own stupidity. This moment was captured.

He hated this day. It was turning and twisting his emotions in a way he didn’t enjoy. His heart got much too heavy for various reasons.

He walked to the bathroom door, but somehow doubted he would end up in their bathroom.

He was proved right. He landed in the swimming pool room and just ran through it. There were several other rooms until he came to his own. He moaned. “ _What_ are you doing, stop pissing me off!”

But then something caught his attention. It was a picture in the shelve. It was the one from the waterfall. The same one. But he definitely knew that _he_ didn’t possess this. Something dawned on him that moment.

“Master?” Her voice was like music to his ears. He turned around to see Rose on the other side of the room. “Finally!” she breathed out relieved and ran straight towards and then into him, throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I found you.”

He found himself hugging her back. “Still feeling a bit lost, though,” he confessed. She leaned back a little to watch him, but still had her arms around him. “We’re not in my chamber, are we?”

“No,” she confirmed. “You’re still lying on the floor in my room. And I’m … well, my body is enchained to the infirmary bed. Luckily, the Doctor reacted in time.”

He nodded a bit absently, his eyes wandered to the picture again. “Does this even exist?” He didn’t know why he wanted to know.

“It does,” she said after a pause. “And I’m so grateful that the Doctor made this. But here I was using it to draw you to me. We’re still loosely connected.”

“Do you still have a connection to Bad Wolf?” he wanted to know.

“I have. But so does she.”

“Rose, you are stronger than her, are longer connected to Bad Wolf than her. You _can_ beat her.”

“I don’t really know how.”

“I can help you. But you are the one who has to do the actual work, petal. I connected briefly with Bad Wolf and was knocked out as a result.”

Worry and concern flooded her face. Her hand drove from his shoulder to his double heart. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t know. His hand found hers over his hearts, enveloping it. She was so warm, even in her mind. “I’ll be alright,” he promised, missing half his voice. They hadn’t time to debate this now.

She didn’t quite believe him. Of course she wouldn’t. But she let it be. “Okay, I’ll show you something.” And she led the way, never letting go of his hand.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

They came into the control room (or the mind’s equivalent of it). But the centre of it was flooded with yellow light, so bright he had to squinny. Rose went ahead like she wasn’t even bothered by the light. Like she belonged there.

Maybe she did.

When she was close, she turned around, searching his eyes. She looked completely comfortable. “I think I can use this.”

He chuckled faintly. “You and me both. Come here, lemme see.” He came closer, searching her hands. He observed her blond hair melting into to golden light behind her. The whole room was dark, but the light surrounded her like she was radiating it herself. There was a calmness in her expression which made her seem like she reached her destiny. “You’re beyond beautiful, you know that?” He had to say it. It was nothing but the truth. And he meant the whole package, all her warmth and her power.

Nisha had been right. He would never access this.

Rose mouth opened in wonder, no idea how to react to that. For once, he didn’t need her to.

His eyes closed he started to get an overview of the situation. He finally tugged Rose along and she guided Bad Wolf like she was born to do so.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Doctor’s brows were knitted, and he stared to the computer screen.

“Blimey, can’t you find him?” she mocked from the bed.

No, he really couldn’t. “He’s still here. I can sense him,” he informed her. “So what, you manipulated the sensors? Influencing the TARDIS? Oooh, yeah. Makes sense. You’re somehow intertwined with Rose, Bad Wolf _and_ the TARDIS. Blimey, that must be a chaos in your head.”

She shrugged. “I’m managing just fine.”

“We’ll see about that. Also, to what end? Was it even intentional, mixing up with Rose?”

He saw her twitching her hands in the restraints. “Maybe not,” she said and then chuckled. “I’m only just learning how smart you are. Connecting the dots, seeing you work is a joy. As it was a joy seeing the Master’s mind work. It was resourceful until I finally tore it down.”

“So you’re using your time to bring chaos, no matter how and where?” the Doctor concluded. “Makes sense, too. Rose said Nisha thrived on chaos.”

“I’m not Nisha,” she repeated. “I’m as much Nisha as I am Rose.”

“You’re nothing like Rose.”

She leaned back, chuckling again. “I can understand why she tends to compare the two of you.” She tilted her head. “Would you like to know which one the better kisser is?”

“If she planted something of herself inside Rose, there has to be a way to distinguish,” he ignored her and started working on the computer.

“Or for whom she would’ve decided if he hadn’t temporally died back then,” she continued.

“Your brain signatures are different, but I can’t really separate a different signature from Rose’s,” he murmured more to himself.

“Because we can’t be separated,” she commented.

“Unlikely. It’s just good at blending in. It’s like a parasite. And there are ways to get rid of a parasite.”

“Doctor,” she empathised sternly. His eyes snapped up while the rest of him was motionless. He looked utterly pissed underneath it all. “If you do that, Rose won’t survive.”

His petrified look started to change. In fact, a grin was starting to form. “You’re scared,” he concluded.

“Of course I am, I need this body!” she justified.

“See, I don’t think what you said is quite true. I think you’re scared because I am on the right track and you want to mislead me.”

Her face was clouding. “If you want to risk the life of the woman you claim to love.”

“I’m not risking her. Ever,” he disagreed, starting to work on several machines in the infirmary. “I am right about this.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she claimed but suddenly hissed as if she was in pain.

The Doctor looked up. “I haven’t even done anything yet.”

But he wasn’t sure if she was acting. She seemed majorly confused herself, looking down her body cluelessly. Until she started groaning, “That skanky hoe.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

“I feel it shifting,” Rose said as they tried to detect the intruder and expel it. “I think we poked her. She will fight back.”

The Master on the other hand had trouble focusing. His whole body started itching and hurting. He knew this wasn’t his real body, so obviously something was wrong with his mind. Still, he had to put it off for now. “She will, don’t underestimate her. She will use Bad Wolf as well. But remember that you are stronger.”

“How are you so sure?” she asked, suddenly panic and insecurity were bubbling up.

He turned towards her, taking her face in both his hands, enjoying how the lights were flickering around them. “Because I can feel you, every time we connect,” he said emphatically. “I feel your weaknesses and your strength, and I am positive that you are one of the most powerful creatures in this universe.”

She swallowed. “But this power comes from Bad Wolf,” she objected. “And she can use it as well.”

He grinned, and it had something very warm which ebbed over to her. “See, and this is where you’re wrong,” he told her confidently, lights shifting around them. “You _are_ the Bad Wolf.” He gently leaned forward, delicately kissing her forehead, trying to send her his confidence.

“How heart-warming,” a cold voice interrupted them. Apparently, their minds chose Nisha to embody her intrusion. “I wonder which death of your lovers will hurt you more.” And with that, a beam of light was hurling the Master away.

Rose escaped a scream of protest, but she twirled around soon after. “I think you’re in the wrong body.”

“I feel alright here,” she shrugged and without warning, a second beam hit Rose.

And it vanished into her light, leaving her still standing.

Nisha tilted her head.

Rose felt a power she never felt before. It was pouring into her limbs and the light around her started to surround her arms and legs, driving into her eyes and making them shine. “You chose the wrong enemy. _Bitch_.”

The next beam was emerging from her, hitting Nisha and making her scream. She shot back a few times, making Rose faltering, but never break down. Nisha’s eyes became more murderous every time she failed, but she sagged to her knees and finally was propped on her arms, sweat running down her face. Rose came closer, holding her down with the light. “There’s one more thing I need to know,” she told her, stretching out her hand towards her black-haired head.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose was jerking on the bed, tearing at her restraints. “No, you don’t!” she hissed again, screwing her eyes shut.

The Doctor was instantly on the computer again, actually seeing some brain waves separating from the others. “Rose is fighting …” he whispered in awe. “She’s pushing you out.”

She groaned, peering to him. “We’ll see about that.”

“But …” he suddenly sobered up. “When you leave her body …” She was a parasite. She wouldn’t just vanish. “Bullocks,” he spat out, immediately starting to grab various tools to build something over her head. He had to build something to contain her. Or she would just search the next host. (Which was by the way, probably him.)

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

There was an eruption running through her essence as she saw Nisha splitter into nothingness and the heavy ease was the thing which finally made Rose fall to the ground. Everything was shifting back to normal, nothing was supressing her and she felt her slowly leaving this state of consciousness.

But she couldn’t help but looking for the Master who was lying on the ground further away. She crawled her way to him, sliding her palm up his face to direct it towards her. He groaned at the movement. “Master?” she enquired after him. “I did it. I actually did it.”

He grunted again. “I know. I’m in your mind, I felt it. Told you so. You better believe me when I say something.”

She snorted a bit. “I’m waking up. Are you waking up?”

“I …” He didn’t know if he should be honest. “I’m not sure. But I believe so.” He felt things shifting and he probably was waking up, too. But every little bit of his body is hurting, every movement is agony.

“Hey,” she said as if she was realising that something was majorly wrong with him. “Don’t scare me. I …” she swallowed at that bit. “I still need you.”

He snickered weakly. “You don’t need anyone.”

“Don’t say that, I wouldn’t have managed this if it weren’t for you. You guide me, you don’t even know how much strength you gave me, do you?” She was talking urgently, heavily. She felt herself slipping away from him. “I can’t lose you,” she whispered, echoing his earlier words before she was feeling it all fall away.

“Don’t worry,” he grinned. “See you on the other side, little wolf.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Her eyes opened. She jerked up a second later only to find herself restrained. Right, she almost forgot.

“Rose!” The Doctor was rushing to her, opening her bonds.

She instantly threw her arms around him, pressing her into him as hard as she could. “Thank God, Doctor,” she sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, seriously,” he sighed as well. He had her back.

“The Master,” she remembered suddenly and wound out of the hug. “He’s still in my room. We have to check on him, I’m not sure if he is okay.” A weird construction on the head of the bed caught her attention. “What is that?”

“This … is the Nisha parasite. Or it is inside. After I realised that you would push it out, I had to build something to contain it. Otherwise it would have searched for his next host.”

Her eyes started to grow. “Oh my God, that means I almost made it worse!”

His hands found her face. “No, you were amazing. You couldn’t have known. And all is well, it’s out and it’s secured. All’s fine. Molto bene.”

After a moment, she sighed in relief, pulling him back into a hug. “Let’s look after Time Lord number two,” she finally mumbled.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When they entered her room, he was sitting and leaning against the wall, holding his head. Rose rushed down to him. “Are you alright?” she asked in concern.

He sighed. No, he really, really wasn’t. His hand fell down from his head. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said instead. “Just need a bit of time to recover. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

She sighed relieved. “I’m glad. Because now we can finally complete our mission. I know how to rescue these people. I extracted it from Nisha’s mind.”

“You’re a star, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor praised full of pride.

“You think you’re up for it?” she asked the Master after she had returned the Doctor’s smile. She gently blinked at him. “I can’t do it alone.”

“Sure,” he sighed, moving so he sat there cross-legged. Rose mirrored him, and he placed his fingers on her temple.

The Doctor observed her concentrated face as her lids closed. She emitted determination and confidence. He noticed this since she had woken up. What happened there – it had strengthened her trust in herself.

He noticed the moment when she went with the flow. Her body relaxed while not losing her determination. She wasn’t really in her body right now, totally devoting herself to fixing the planet, shifting these people in their original stream of time without the weapons that were firing on them. Until her eyes snapped open. And they shined with a bright golden light.

The Master noticed it too, opening his eyes and frowning. But he didn’t react otherwise, so the Doctor suspected it was still working. Somehow, the Doctor had the urge to run to her, but she seemed perfectly fine. He wasn’t sure if she was even aware of her open eyes.

A minute passed, and her lids fell shut again. And with that she sagged a little together and moaned lightly. The Master separated his fingers from her, still watching her sceptically. When she opened her eyes again, they were normal. “It worked, didn’t it?” she asked full of hope.

The Master blinked at her. “Fairly certain.”

“’m gonna check,” she announced and jumped up, walking out of the room.

The Master locked gazes with the Doctor, just as clueless. “I take it, this hasn’t happened before,” the Doctor concluded.

The Master’s frown didn’t vanish. “It has not.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It had all worked. The planet was fine, the people were back, not being hunted by laser fire anymore, the parasite was contained, and they had talked about Rose’s shiny eyes, but came to the conclusion that she was in fact okay. That it was just a natural proceeding of her powers – for now. Bad Wolf had taken over more, Rose only fragmentarily remembered what she did exactly … but she had done it. And that was encouraging enough for her.

They had Nisha’s piece of mind lodged somewhere. It was safe. It wasn’t entirely clear how it got inside of Rose, but somehow Rose’s short unconsciousness was accompanied by a flux of energies and essences. And Nisha seemed to be constantly in a flux.

Rose was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She lay here for a while now, glad she had some time alone. When the Doctor finally joined her, she had had enough time to process a little of what happened.

“Hey,” he greeted her softly. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused, exhausted and powerful at the same time?” she offered.

The Doctor grinned, joining her on the bed and she sat up, leaning against the wall. “You were _so_ strong,” he said, taking her hand. “You know that, right?”

Her look fell down. “I’m not sure. I can’t get that prophecy out of my head.”

“Prophecies aren’t all that, okay?” he objected. “Maybe you fixed it. Bad Wolf _has_ arisen when Nisha came. And maybe she would have hurt me if she would have jumped inside of me. But we prevented that.”

She didn’t look up. “You don’t believe that yourself,” she answered quietly. But that wasn’t even all. Guilt was nagging at her because of the way she had behaved. It wasn’t all true what she had said but she had used half-truth to twist them and play them off against each other. She had to talk with both of them about it to prevent her words to drive a wedge between them. “Doctor … about what I did,” she started but he already interrupted. “It wasn’t you, Rose.”

She looked up, then. “But that’s not completely true, innit? I mean, s’all confusing.”

“She just wanted to mess with our minds.”

She blinked at him. “Well, did she succeed?” He missed a beat at that. Obviously, he couldn’t instantly negate it. “I wasn’t in control … when I kissed him,” she finally addressed it concretely.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m not holding it against you, believe me. But …”

Now he was the one who wouldn’t look her in the eyes. She searched them. “What, Doctor?” she prompted.

“But I thought about it,” he finally unveiled. “What it would mean if it happened.”

“But you said it yourself,” she instantly protested, “she was just trying to mess with our minds. And it didn’t _really_ happen in the sense of me actually being myself.”

“But it could.” He spoke the sentence so calmly but with such finality, the words got stuck in her throat. He found her eyes again. “Your relationship to him is special, Rose. You two share something you share with nobody else.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t mean ‘m gonna _snog_ him!” she brought out.

“It’s a separate relationship,” he tried to explain but was frustrated that he seemed unable to do so. “It’s so hard to grasp this with English words, because there’s nothing like it on Earth. It’s different, but it can be just as intimate.”

“But it isn’t!” she still protested. “I mean, okay, yeah, I obviously feel a connection to him. I don’t want to lose him, but … Doctor … I love you _so_ much. More than I can handle, sometimes!”

“That you feel something for him, doesn’t lessen your feelings for me.”

“How can you be so cool about it?” She was aware that she was raising her voice. Somehow, this talk made her angry. And the fact that he seemed so detached.

“Why are you getting so upset?”

“Because!” she almost yelled but stopped herself. She took a breath. “I don’t know. I don’t want you to think I choose him over you.”

“And I’m trying to tell you … whatever happens, I believe you.”

At first, she had been angry at his distant behaviour, because that always had a way of triggering her, since she got hurt by it not for the first time. But she should know better by now. She tried to sigh her tension out, even getting a small smile. “How much of a war is raging inside you, right now?” she quipped.

His façade broke a bit. He snorted, hiding a smile. “You don’t want to know.”

She leaned forwards, sliding her hands up his cheeks and kissed him softly. “I love you, Doctor. Nothing will ever change that.”

It was like their promise from all this time ago was still unimpaired. So why were these words a little too little for him? (Oh, the irony) Still, he answered like he promised to and it was the truth.

“I believe you.”

(He just didn’t know if he was the only one that she loved.)

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Always when there were moments in which Rose thought things would finally get easier, she got hit with reality in the next moment when nothing has gotten easier. At all.

She had yet to talk to the Master.

She had more trouble to go see him than the Doctor, debating if she should even address what had transpired or just pretend it never happened. Since she hasn’t really been herself.

But she had to. Otherwise it would come up at some point and bite her in the arse. Better come clean with him.

So she was standing in front of his door and knocked. When she heard a quiet _Come in_ , she opened it. She found him standing at a window, leaning at the board and looking outside at the stars moving.

She was marvelled. Although this being a spaceship, the TARDIS seemed to open very little windows. He wasn’t looking at her, just observing the stars. Rose slowly came closer and stepped aside him, likewise propping herself on the board. “Wow,” she made quietly. “There’s nothing quite like it, is it?”

“I guess not,” was his answer.

“We never had a garden, but when I was little, mom stayed outside with me sometimes. In a park nearby. And we would look at the stars and she would tell me daft stories about the various constellations.” She smiled fondly at the memory. “They were all nonsense, of course. But I always cherished these memories, even if it was really not that often.” She huffed. “Never thought I would end up here, back then.”

She finally saw him smile out of the corner of her eye. “You’ve certainly come a long way.”

Caught up by the sight of the stars, she answered faintly, “I guess.”

She heard him sigh and he finally looked at her. “Can’t you sleep?” he asked softly.

She suddenly found herself kneading her hands. “Not yet.”

“Too much buzzing up there?” He even turned to her a little more.

“That too,” she admitted. “It doesn’t feel bad or anything, I just notice that it’s happening something.” Her brows lifted fleetingly. “And that it _happened_ something.”

He watched her for a moment, and she recognized worry underneath his features. He raised his hand to gently touch her temple. “Did it hurt?” He was hesitant to ask, but it was laced with warm concern. Eventually, guilt came to the fore. “When I invaded?”

She had to resist the urge to lean into his hand, only half succeeding. “Don’t worry about that. I was violated by _her_ , not by you. And you tried to stop her.”

“I know that,” he replied. “I still wanted to ask. And well … make sure you’re okay.”

She found his hand on her cheek and enveloped it with hers. “I am,” she assured. “I was glad when you got in. Tried to help you, even.”

He grinned a bit. “Sending Bad Wolf?”

“It was the best I could think of.”

“I got rid of her because of it. So yeah. Not that bad.”

She allowed herself a small smile back. But got more serious after. “Master, I wanted to apologize.”

He was obviously surprised by that, knitting his brows. “How so?”

“Well… for the way I was acting. My whole behaviour.”

His mouth was forming an ‘o’, the realising “Oh”, came a second later when he was slightly rolling his eyes and supressing a grin. “You mean that you snogged me.” His hand dropped again.

“For example, yeah.”

“Don’t fret. If anything, _I_ was considering apologizing, because I maybe should have resisted more or anything. Not really good with these moral grey areas.”

That actually got a slight grin out of her. “You resisted alright,” she granted him. “But it was all majorly unfair to you.”

She didn’t know what she had said, but suddenly his face was closing off. “What, you think I’m a lovesick puppy?” he shot back quite a bit cold, making her flinch. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m fine.”

“I didn’t …” she started but had no clue what to even say to this, finishing lamely, “okay.” What had just happened? What did she say wrong? How did she offend him?

“So, that’s all then?” he snapped.

“Why are you pissed?” she couldn’t hold back.

His next laugh didn’t hold any humour. “It was majorly unfair to _me_? Seriously?!”

“I don’t get it, Master!” she protested. “What do you mean?”

“Forget it,” he hissed, turning around.

Oh no. She hadn’t been sure if coming here was a good idea, but she had wanted to make things right. There was _no_ way she would leave him like that.

She was following him and grabbed his elbow. “Just talk to me, okay?”

He shrugged out of her grip. “I said, forget it!”

“ _Oh_ no!” Now, _she_ was getting pissed. “You always insist on our honesty deal, barley leaving me a way out.” She got in front of him. “Now _talk_.”

He was almost expressionless for a second, but not moving away anymore. “Don’t pretend it only affected me. She was playing with _your_ fantasies and secrets.”

Rose gasped, feeling panic arise at his implications. “That is _so_ not true!”

“Oh, save it, petal. She might have been gunning for causing trouble between us, but she did it with things that _weren’t_ so far from the truth.” He didn’t leave her time to protest. “Which doesn’t change anything, so stop panicking, but don’t pretend that his was hard on me in a way that it was _not_ on you.”

She didn’t even know if she blinked the next moments. Was he right? Had she felt tempted, even without being in control? Was the memory tempting? Her talk with the Doctor came rushing back to her, telling her being tempted was okay, but she instantly tried to push it away again. She sighed, letting go some tension. “It was still different, though,” she admitted _some_ of it. “ _I_ as myself – was a lot less active.”

“I wasn’t questioning that,” he responded. “Doesn’t change my point.”

“Okay, real talk, here,” she sighed almost annoyed, but in a way, this was for what she had come for. “Being with you is hard sometimes. Not only because you can be a pain in the arse,” she teased with the same annoyance, “but also because we’re sharing an intimacy I don’t know how to express.” She let that sink in, observing his eyes examining her. Her teasing vanished completely. “And I’m _sorry_ that I can’t. I _really_ am,” she ensured him, getting emotional. “I’m sorry that I’m at a total loss sometimes. I’m sorry that I act inconsistently sometimes, but I’m doing the best I can.” She sighed, composing herself. “And I’m also sorry that this probably won’t change.”

There was indeed forming a small smile on his face. It was warm. “And that is totally okay, Rose,” he said calmly, and his hand found her cheek again. “I told you something very similar. That I’m sorry when I cross the line again. It’ll be okay as long as we’re open about it.”

She didn’t even feel her puzzled head shaking. “Sometimes I wonder …” she said faintly.

“Don’t wonder,” she whispered and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Just accept it.” His hand was falling to his side again and Rose almost regretted it. “The last thing I want to do is kicking you out, but I need to sleep. This wasn’t a cakewalk.”

Of course, he was tired. “No, sure,” she answered. “Sleep. I should probably sleep as well. But are you sure everything is okay?”

“Stop asking me that and go snuggling with your blankets,” he bantered, pointing at the door.

“Alright, alrigh’,” she raised her hands. “Sleep tight.”

“You too, little wolf.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It had been soon after the planet was saved, and Rose had gone into her and the Doctor’s room.

The Time Lords were inside the laboratory where the Doctor was showing the Master the data from the parasite. “It’s not really a parasite per se, of course,” he explained. “But you see it yourself. Nisha doesn’t seem to be fix. In a way, she’s the opposite of Jack. Do you want a seat?” He didn’t even wait for the Master to reply, just taking a seat, placing it aside his counterpart, making him observe him with utter vexation. “She doesn’t belong in a time stream,” he nonetheless continued, gesticulating while he was at it. “She can traverse it like it’s a street.”

The blond was tilting his head. “So do we.”

“Yeah, but she is different somehow,” he countered in thought. “She is not bound to her body or to _any_ body. She is like several pieces moving in sync but can be parted and put together again at will. And obviously she can do that with other entities as well. Things. And people.”

The Master blinked at the Doctor. Once. Twice. Until he was too annoyed to hold it back. “Okay, spill it,” he finally hissed a little. “How bad is it?”

It was the first time the Doctor looked him in the eyes, observing his form which was slightly cramped, obviously uncomfortable. “Your essence is unstable,” he stated gravely. “Sometimes it’s neither here or elsewhere. That’s why you’re hurting. It’s pulling at both locations.”

He sighed. “Well, something about this doesn’t really sound right, does it?” The Doctor didn’t answer. He only observed him with a very serious expression. The Master couldn’t help but chuckle. “Both our futures don’t look so bright right now, eh?”

“Our futures aren’t written yet,” he countered.

“Always the optimist,” he stated faintly. His look fell to the ground. “I think I’ll take it this time.”

“I’ll look into it,” he simply promised.

“You and me both.” The blond peered up again. “Any ideas yet?” He saw his counterpart chewing his teeth. He shrugged. “Didn’t think so.” With that he pushed himself up and wandered to the door. “I’m gonna take a nap. Or maybe a full grown night’s sleep. Depending.”

With that, he left the Doctor alone, leaving them both with their plagued thoughts.


	6. Relapse

As he asked the TARDIS for the time, he was startled. Did he sleep _that_ long? He felt like he didn’t sleep at all.

For at least three weeks.

He groaned while getting up. After an eternity, he was ready to go for some black tea, finding himself scuffing into the kitchen. He only slightly registered the Doctor and Rose in there.

“Good morning, you ball of sunshine,” she greeted him after a moment.

“Don’t annoy me that early in the morning,” he grumbled back.

“It’s noon.”

“After what time?” he asked, pouring himself some tea.

“Well … Earth time,” she answered, frowning.

“And when have I ever cared for Earth?” he shot back, turning around.

She made a face as if she tried to figure out if this was a bad joke or what his intention was. The Doctor just looked warningly. The Master sipped from his beverage, ignoring them. “Slept badly?” Rose finally wanted to know.

“Like a baby,” he answered. “You know, the part where they cry all night and don’t sleep at all. Like that.”

“So I guess we won’t look into my shiny eyes today?”

“Did we want to?” The Master blinked.

“Yeah. Talked about it.”

He frowned, shaking his head. “Don’t expect me to remember anything today.”

“Boy, I never knew you could sleep _that_ bad.”

Of course, the Doctor would look pointedly at him. The Master knew he had to tell her at some point. But maybe not when he was that crabby and it was difficult to prevent insults from flying out of his mouth. “I evidently can,” he answered, pushing himself from the counter to walk out of the room again. “We’ll talk later when I’m a bit more awake.”

Rose watched him go, the frown never leaving her face. “What’s his deal?” She heard the Doctor sigh and saw him drive a hand through his hair and over his face. “You know something, don’t you?” she prompted.

“Yes, but I think _he_ should tell you. When he’s ready.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” she asked concerned.

There was another deep sigh. “There …” he answered hesitantly, “were complications. There might be some consequences from his fight with Nisha. But we’re looking into it.”

She froze. “So, you’re sayin’ I shouldn’t worry?”

He missed a beat, in which he didn’t give anything away, expression-wise, but it told her enough. “No, you shouldn’t,” he agreed, but she knew better. Her worried look followed the corridor where the Master had vanished.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She was in her room, trying to get some intro-perspective, so to speak. She didn’t know why the Master always told her she was powerful. She couldn’t do anything when she was all on her own.

That’s when she heard a knock.

“Come in,” she called.

And saw the Master open the door. “Hi,” he said, waiting in the door frame.

“Hi,” she answered simply.

“Can I come in?”

“’Course you can.” He entered and joined her on the floor, sitting in front of her. “Feeling a little better?”

He shrugged. “It comes and goes.”

“What does?” she inquired. “Is there something I can do?”

His look dropped. “What did the Doctor tell you?”

She found herself kneading her hands. “Only that there were consequences from your fight with Nisha, s’all.”

“That just about sums it up,” he quipped. “I, uh … Nisha tore at my essence. Tried to rip it apart.”

“I know,” she breathed.

“Well, she succeeded,” he concluded curtly. “My essence is torn open. It fluctuates between dimensions, we don’t know which. When parts of it aren’t here, they are elsewhere.” He slowly blinked at her. “Or gone.”

“Oh my God,” she whispered, not able to speak up louder. “But … does that mean …” she tried to find the words she was afraid of. “What happens when we don’t find a solution?”

“I die, silly,” he bluntly answered. “No one can survive that in the long run.”

“ _No_ ,” she protested in a mixture of whining and anger. “That won’t happen, we’ll find a way, that’s what we do!”

“I’ve lived for so long, Rose. Cheated death on many occasions. Everybody’s time is up at some point.”

She gestured wildly before words were coming out. “Stop talking about it so detached!” she scolded. “ _God_!” she added growling. “You two can be like night and day and exactly the same at the same time! You _won’t_ die, okay? You will at least manage to stay alive the petty few decades _I_ have left, understood?”

He smiled to himself. “So that you don’t have to watch me die, but I you?” he challenged.

“Exactly!” she shot back, not caring that this was selfish. The important thing was that he didn’t think about dying right now. “So is there something I can do?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. But you can’t even see my mind, can you? You only just started seeing yours.”

“Maybe you can guide me. Or maybe _you_ can do something when we’re connected.”

He sighed under his breath. “Possibly. But maybe I should warn you or whatever…” he trailed off. “I’m a bit needy right now.”

After a moment she smiled a little at him, pleadingly. “I handled you being needy before.”

He let out a breathy chuckle while looking away. “Shut it, little girl,” he said warningly without venom.

“But I mean it,” she said seriously and with an honest confidence. “We’re talking about searching for ways to _save_ your _life_. Of course we’re doing this! So, c’mon.”

Already, she raised her hands to find his temples. He needed a moment, but finally mirrored her. She eagerly tried to connect them, was actually getting good at it. Even though he mostly still needed to nudge her slightly to complete the link. (She actually _could_ activate their connection alone. She already had done it. But only when her emotions had been totally running wild.)

He couldn’t and didn’t want to hide the deep sigh when they connected. But he already felt this being only a semi-good idea. He wanted her comfort. He needed it right now. And it had an unbelievably reassuringly warmth to be inside her again without Nisha’s cold.

“What?” she asked quietly.

He hesitated. How loud had he actually sighed? “It’s just …” he tried to form words, “you feel so much better than her.” And with that, he needed more of her. Feel her, sense her. He grabbed her little form and pulled her closer, needing to limit the distance. “I’m sorry, I just …” he automatically tried to justify himself. _… want this. Want you close. Please don’t go._

“I won’t,” she reassured him.

He was frozen for a moment, but then his lids flew open. His head jerked back, his big eyes blinked at her. “Did you just hear my thoughts?”

She hadn’t even realized that. Well, she had known he hadn’t talked, but … it had felt perfectly normal. “I guess I did,” she answered after she had thought about it. He just seemed shocked. “Isn’t this a good thing?” she wanted to know.

“It’s a _huge_ thing,” he offered. “And … well … I guess I have to watch my thoughts a bit better now.” His face frowned. “What a _drag_.”

She gasped. “You can hear _my_ thoughts!” she complained.

“Yeah, but I don’t listen,” he answered, before adding, “Mostly.”

“Liar.” She rolled her eyes, before suddenly sitting up a bit more. “You’re closing your doors!” she realized she could sense. “What about our honesty?”

“There are some things you don’t wanna hear.” He should stop this, in fact. He felt himself being only loosely in control. Less like about losing his control, but not being able to judge if he was in control.

She sighed. “Fine.” It was only fair. Respecting each other’s privacy was extremely important with this whole mind sharing. “What do you think, should we share?”

She was all business. And he had to admit he was a bit proud. Still… “I … I’m not sure.”

“I vote to do so.”

“Eh … okay.”

“Well, that was easy,” she joked.

He was still not convinced if they should do this right now. But he also knew it was their best shot to find something that would help him. So he started the process. Untangling her strings and weaving them into his made his breath shudder a bit. But Rose seemed to have a different reaction. She took a sharp breath – in shock. “What’s happening?” she gasped confused and he felt her resisting to pull her arms back.

He tried to focus on her experience. What _she_ saw.

Rose could see her mind, alright. But it was like she was standing in the middle of a huge room which was fluctuating irregularly, vanishing and swimming back again. Her lids flew open and she examined him with big, questioning orbs.

He just had a tired and bitter grin coming back at her. “I told you,” he said. “Didn’t think you would be able to see this, though. You’re definitely making steps forwards there, little one.”

“Is it your mind?” she finally asked. “Because I’m seeing…”

“Yours, yes,” he finished. “You’re still not seeing mine. But when we’re connected or when we share, it’s reflected in yours. Or so it seems to be.” He let his eyes rest on her face for a second. “You feel it. That’s how it shows.”

Without being able to stop it or even being aware of it, tears were forming in her eyes, one of them finding its way out, running over her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Something in his mind was unmistakably broken.

“If it’s too much, we can …”

“No” she protested instantly, closing in even more. “We’ll have a look,” she insisted. “Yeah?”

There it was again, the necessity to stop himself from shuddering. She was so close, he could simply lean in and … _crap_. “I …” he started, having trouble finding his voice _or_ the right words. _Rose, I don’t think I can … I feel really funny and don’t know if I do something I’ll regret and …_

“Shsh,” she interrupted his mental rant softly. “Yes, you can.” She actually leaned forwards to gently kiss his forehead.

Her intention to soothe him only partly succeeded. He chuckled lightly when he felt her hot lips on his skin. “Not sure that’s helping.”

“You better make sure,” she quipped. “Because we are goin’ to work now and find a way to help you.”

He grinned a little. But she was still all business and it helped him to concentrate a bit better.

His essence was a mess. Even with Rose’s bleeding into his, there were simply pieces missing. “They’re not gone,” Rose’s voice sounded, forehead frowning in endeavour. “At least, I don’t think they are.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Intuition?” She _couldn’t_ see his mind.

“I guess so,” she answered feebly, already questioning her abilities again.

“Well, I hope they’re not,” the Master continued. “I’d very much like them back.”

“Can we share more? You kinda stopped to process.”

“I …” he was again uncomfortable with this.

She sighed. “Have a little faith in me.”

He huffed. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

She opened her eyes again and leaned forwards, smiling. Teasingly. “In me for being able to handle you, dumbo.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Suit yourself.” He continued wrapping their strings together until the process took on a life of its own and they were completely pouring into each other. His head dropped into her shoulder and one hand was fisting the hair on the back of her head. Not that he was aware of that anymore.

He was aware of her golden essence, brighter than ever, infiltrating his broken one. The next moment, all the pain was gone, and he felt a levity he wanted to drown in. And yet again, she was the reason he was soothed. What was it with this girl that always came back to make him feel better?

To make him _feel_.

He shuddered, holding her close, mentally. _Stay_.

_I will._

His essence quivered in anticipation. There were only short sequences of coherence, but the fact she could communicate with him that way, excited him. (Even though he was glad that thoughts while sharing wouldn’t be that clear.)

He felt her try things. To fill his gaps, so to speak. But she didn’t really see anything, so he helped her. And it had a soothing effect. Healing.

But he didn’t think it would last.

It was maddening, her being able to have this effect on him which never lasted. It gave him the feeling he only had her temporarily, always slipping out of his grasp again, never really his.

He always felt that way with her. And this was letting these thoughts swim to the surface again. That he wanted her to be his. His _alone._ But that he didn’t know whether this only was because she probably never will be.

But he had dealt with these thoughts already. This wasn’t about their relationship. This was about him slowly dying.

They tried a few more things before he felt her losing the power. After all that happened to her body, she was still human.

So he disconnected them gently, and pulled his head back as soon as he became aware of his body again. She sighed. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, sounding exhausted.

His hand cradled her cheek, supporting her head. “Never be sorry when we do this,” he answered lowly. He expected her to collect herself, but she still had her eyes closed, frowning. He tilted his head in her direction. “Are you okay?”

“I …” She shook her head and raised it, finally opening her eyes. “Yeah, but I feel … I dunno.”

Concern was growing in his features. “Try to be specific here.”

“I think I’m fine,” she answered steadier. “I’m just shaken up, I guess. Something is seriously wrong with you. I mean, more so than usual,” she teased.

“Thanks for the diagnosis.”

“I need some water,” she said more to herself, intending to stand up, only to fall again as she was half-way up.

The Master caught her before she crashed down. “Girl, if you’re not telling me something …” he warned, his stare dead-serious.

“I wouldn’t _hide_ something like that,” she protested annoyed. “Don’t snap at me!”

“It’s just …” he started, obviously angry. “This was a _bad_ idea. I knew it and still didn’t stop.”

“ _Why_ bad? It helped you!”

“But we don’t know!” he shot back. “We don’t know what consequences this could have for _you_.”

“Okay, chill out.” She stood up without any problems now. “I’m _fine_. Right as rain. I’m allowed to be a bit exhausted after we do something like that, okay?”

He watched her for a while. Trying to figure out if he should let it be for now. Eventually, he sighed. “Alright, whatever.”

“Thank God. I was afraid you would be as cranky as you were this morning.”

He blinked at her. “Was I?”

She tilted her head. “Ehm, _yes_. Verging on mean.”

“Oh.”

“What, don’t you remember?”

“Course I do. Interpreted it differently, obviously.”

She observed him with knitted brows. But he was standing up so fast, she couldn’t observe him for long. “So, the usual?” she heard him say. “You’re gonna sleep? Because I’m gonna go then.”

She didn’t know what, but something was off. She turned to him again. “Master, maybe we should…”

“You should rest,” he insisted. “And we do this again when I’m sure that it doesn’t harm you.”

“But maybe we shouldn’t wait. We’re running against time, right? We could…”

“Don’t you ever do what you are told, you stupid bint?” he snarled suddenly. And she flinched at that. “Like you could do anything. I have something to do and I don’t need your yapping right now.”

He stormed off and left her speechlessly looking after him. _What the actual hell?_

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She was searching for the Doctor, finding him in the laboratory. She had to consider how she would react to the Master’s behaviour.

Because his words had stung. In a way that actually hurt her. And it was even different from his lashing out when he was insulted or when _he_ was hurt. It had been cold. Like he didn’t care.

She had hesitated out of fear she was overreacting. But she had come to trust her instincts a while ago.

“Doctor?” she immediately called out. “Did you find out more about the Master? Because he’s acting weird.”

He looked up from whatever he was doing, still propping his hands on a table. “Weird how?”

“Remember this morning in the kitchen? When he was especially charming?” she asked him ironically. “Double that charm and you can imagine how he acted just now.”

“So, he was a bit rough?”

Okay, the way he put it made her falter. “It was more than that,” she still countered. “He wasn’t just testy.”

The Doctor straightened up, sighing. “Well, it’s a different situation, isn’t it? He is practically faced with death. And we don’t know if there is a solution.” He tilted his head. “Maybe he is allowed to be angry.”

Of course, this could be the case. But … “I hear you, Doctor. It’s just a feeling, but I think it’s more than that.”

He let his eyes rest on her for a minute. “Okay. You want to give him a chance to cool down? Or do you want us to go search him now?”

Phew. She thought about it, trying to isolate her hurt feelings from the feeling she got from her connection with him. But after he was cranky that morning, he was all right when he went seeing her after. So maybe, letting him cool off a bit wasn’t such a bad idea. So she started nodding. “Alrigh’. We’ll search for him in an hour or so.”

There was a small, reassuring smile. “Of course,” he agreed.

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Rose decided to go to the gym in the meantime. That helped her to cool down as well. After half an hour or so, she headed to their bedroom. Maybe the Doctor had been right. Maybe the Master had the right to be testy.

She opened the door, intending to change, but she startled as she saw a figure facing away from her. “Blimey!” she sighed relieved after she recognized the Master. “Sneaky, are we? How do you feel? Hopefully better than an hour ago.”

He turned around, observing her. After a while, he shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Sooo, did you look into it? Does it harm me?” she wanted to know. “Should we try again?”

“So many questions,” he commented, striding closer.

“Well, yeah. Many mysteries. Like you behaving like an arse again.” He raised a questioning brow and she already regretted having said that. “Look,” she sighed and stepped closer, so she could lay her hand on his shoulder. He looked at it for a second and … there was something else in his features. “I didn’t mean to say that. But before you snap at me again, maybe we should just talk about it?” she offered.

His brows went up, his head tilted a bit forward. “Sure. Talking’s … a good thing.”

She frowned. “Hey, are you alright?” Instinctively, her hand slid up to his temple to maybe get a whiff of his emotions.

He looked at her with a certain confusion, but there was amusement mixed up with it, as he peered to her hand and then to her face again. “This is going to be interesting,” he commented, and before she could react, something hit her and her world went black.

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Rose groaned as her senses slowly started working again. _Holy crap,_ her limbs felt stiff and aching. She was lying on a mattress, but as soon she wanted to get up, she realized her hands and feet being strapped.

“Whot?!” she called out loudly out of shock before she even eyed her surroundings. She knew that room, but only from her little mind adventure with the Master and Nisha. This was the Master’s room.

“Finally,” she heard his annoyed voice. “What took you so long, I was getting impatient.”

“ _I’m strapped to your_ _fricking bed!_ ” she shrieked, not understanding a single thing that was happening.

“Yeah well, I’m better not taking any chances.” He walked beside the bed, tilting his head as he observed her. “Let’s have a chat,” he hissed, crinkling his nose while smiling. But the smile was cold, the look in his eyes calculating.

She missed a beat. “We can talk, alrigh’. Just untie me and we talk.”

He chuckled. “Not gonna happen, sweetheart.”

“What’s happened?” she whispered. “We were working on making you better, but it only seems worse.”

“There’s an interesting point,” he threw in. “Why not elaborate?”

She frowned even more, but her eyes grew in terrible suspicion. “You …” she breathed panicky. “You don’t remember _any_ thing, do you?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say anything.” He shrugged.

“Do you know _who I am?_ ” she exclaimed suddenly, hoping against her better judgement for a different answer.

“Not a clue,” he waived that fact. “But I have a feeling it’s going to be fun finding out.”

 _Oooooh, crap._ She pulled uncomfortably on her restraints. This is going to be everything _but_ fun.

“I additionally have a feeling you know who _I_ am,” he continued, a perverse amusement flickering under his mime. He had his hands on his back as he leaned forwards, over her, his grin growing.

“Use my name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops.
> 
> Thank you again and again for your comments with your thoughts, I appreciate them immensely <33


	7. Down Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a beast... Anyway, thank you for your comments, they mean sooo so much to me <3
> 
> Also, I wish you a very merry christmas and hope you can enjoy the hoildays in spite of everything that's going on :)

“Use my name.”

After a moment of absolute silence, she groaned aloud, her head fell back onto the bed. “I’ve been through all this shit already,” she complained, more to herself. But she convinced herself to search for his face again. “You’re the soddin’ Master, I’m Rose Tyler. Your essence is torn due to an encounter with an entity called Nisha. That’s why you’re losing your memory. And come to think of it, you were forgetting bits and pieces all along and that has to be the reason for your trashy behaviour. What exactly do you remember?”

He observed her, clearly processing the information. “I think I remember my current regeneration.”

“Well, crap.” Her head bounced to the bed again. “Listen, can you just untie me? I can’t repeat the last _four years_.”

“I don’t _care_ what you need,” he spat right back. His hands landed on the bed he was now propped on and he came even closer. “You’re going to give me what _I_ need. And since _you_ remember, I think I should take a look into that pretty little head of yours.”

She couldn’t decide whether she wanted to laugh. “That would’ve been exactly _my_ proposal. _After_ you untie me.”

He chuckled again, and she knew he wouldn’t let himself in for it. “Now, why would I do that?” he grinned, and suddenly was on the bed, throwing a leg over her body so he had knees on both her sides, hovering above her. He paused then, watching her inquiringly. “I have to admit,” he eventually said in thought, his index finger suddenly on her face, stroking it along her cheek, “there’s a certain familiarity about you.”

Rose felt her whole body being tensed up. “That has a reason,” she managed to get out without a voice.

His grin revived a bit. “And that would be?”

“You’ll have to untie me first,” she argued.

“Maybe I like you tied,” he drawled.

She let out a humourless laugh, rolling her eyes. “’Course, you do,” she sighed annoyed. He leaned forwards a bit, his hands cradling her temples. She swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she warned strained.

“You obviously aren’t.” His grin grew, shining with too much fun he shouldn’t have. “I’ll try not to hurt you,” he mocked – and dove in. She jerked at his mind cutting into hers. This felt different. And she immediately wanted him gone. She let Bad Wolf loose, always there to protect her. And she thought that would be enough.

But while being irritated, he still fought back.

And it felt like his fingers themselves would bore through her scull right into her brain. The pressure made her head feel like it would explode any moment and it was so cruelly unexpected, she let out a rather loud scream, feeling his fingers wiggling in her head as he tried to stay, clawing into her essence. “Stop it, it _hurts!_ ” she whined, tears springing to her eyes. She tried to squirm away but couldn’t move properly. _Stop, stop, stop, stop…_

Until she realized – she was the one holding Bad Wolf back.

As her tears were running down her cheeks, she finally used all she had to blow him away.

And he flew at the end of the bed, roaring in pain and confusion. “What the hell _are you_?” he growled.

She couldn’t stop the tears pouring out of her eyes. It was like someone opened the tap all of a sudden. She felt no pain anymore. No physical at least. But she wanted nothing more than to vanish from here. “Did you get _dumb_ when you lost your memories?!” she cried screaming. “Can’t you feel that we have a connection?!” Her head fell back when a heavy sob jolted her body. “God, you arsehole…” she sighed desperately. (It’s been a while since she had felt the need to call him that.)

He couldn’t hurt her. She unconsciously had held back Bad Wolf, because frankly … he had never hurt her. On the contrary. This had always been a safe place.

And just like that her trust had been rattled.

He was on her again, his hand fisting in her hair when he bent over her, leaning in close. “Well, I can’t _look_ when you’re fighting, now can I?” he spat, and she inhaled sharply. “What kind of connection? You’re not human.”

She looked at him with so much determination and anger. “ _Yes_ , I _am_ ,” she snarled. “And I would have told you everything if you had just _asked_.” Disappointment flooded her face and she felt like crying again.

“You’re on the _TARDIS_ with the _Doctor_!” he hissed right back. “Why should I have trusted you in the first place!?”

“Good point,” another voice said just before an electricity sound rang out and the Master went rigid for a moment before falling motionless to the ground beside the bed with a loud thud. Behind him was the Doctor.

She was so _happy_ to see him, but her relief found expression in a new stream of tears. He instantly was on her restraints. “Rose…” he breathed, and she instantly wound her arms around him as soon as they were free, pressing her little form into him. He held her close. “Rose, are you okay? Has he hurt you?”

She sniffed but was quick on wiping her tears away. “It’s okay, I’m okay.”

“Rose,” he warned, taking her tearstained face into his hands. “Tell me what he did.”

“He tried to get in my head. But s’not why ‘m crying, ‘m sorry.” She barely contained a new sniff but managed to pull herself together.

It almost broke him, seeing her this way. “I’m sorry.” He enveloped her into his arms once again. “I’m so sorry, love.”

“’m gonna be okay,” she tried to reassure him.

“Tell me what happened here,” he asked softly.

She swallowed, her eyes looked into nothingness as she continued to hug him. “He didn’t remember anything,” she answered quietly. “Since his regeneration. Everything gone.”

The Doctor stroked over her hair as his look examined the unconscious Master on the ground. Part of him wanted to toss him overboard. To never give him the chance to hurt her ever again. But he also knew it wasn’t really his fault. “Chances are, his memories aren’t lost,” he finally let on quietly.

She felt her fingers gripping his body a little harder, still not ready to wind out of his hug. Slowly, she started to calm down. But she felt exhausted. “He’s dangerous, isn’t he?” she asked reluctantly, already knowing the answer.

His head leaned onto hers and he needed a moment to answer. “Yes,” he then agreed. “He is.”

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He felt his head thudding as he became conscious again. When he hit the blonde girl with the taser, he didn’t expect to be hit with it himself. Maybe he should have made more preparations.

He was constrained in some kind of chair. Obviously still on the TARDIS. He felt a bit groggy, scanning his surroundings. It took longer than it would usually to focus on someone sitting not far from him (but far enough to be completely out of his reach if he could use his arms).

It was the blonde woman. She was sitting there with her legs crossed, her hands tidily lying on her knees. She wasn’t in her casual sportswear anymore, but in jeans and a leather jacket, looking all business. Apart from that, her face was everything but emotional, eying him with a certain distance.

He raised his brows for a moment. “Calmed down, have we?” he quipped. “Looking at me for a while then?”

Her head tilted ever so slightly. “So, still no memories?” she wanted to know.

He sighed. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“But you remember what you did to me?”

He frowned. “I was trying to get information. And I remember you,” he confirmed. “You’ve got power, human. _If_ you are.”

“I already told you I am,” she reminded him. “However, my power … what I’ve got in my head – it will assist you getting your memories back.”

His lids tightened, examining her. “And you help me for what reason?”

She sighed quietly. “Let me be honest with you. This you …” she gestured, “this … _version_ of you. I’m not very fond of him.” Her hand dropped. “I know what you’re capable of,” she let him know hard-headed. “I know what you can do and what you _enjoy_ doing. And I don’t particular like you.” She paused for a second, letting that sink in. “But the person you became since your regeneration – _him_ , I want back. And I’m gonna bring him back. He earned that.”

“Geez, then I’m not sure _I_ want him back.”

“Don’t you wonder about the drums?” she almost didn’t let him finish. He winced at that. She just let her left brow raise, looking at him with an all-knowing look. “A _lot_ happened in these years,” she empathized. “Important things.”

There was a subtle grin on his lips, but he stared at her motionless, pondering over everything. “So what are you going to do?” he finally asked with a strange mixture of boredom and openness.

“I’m gonna go into your head.” She shrugged. “With a tweak.”

Right on cue, the Doctor entered the room, carrying a lot of bulky tools. The Master blinked. “And what would that be?” he wanted to know.

Rose never took her eyes from him, looking resolute. “We’re both gonna take some kind of nap.”

The Master was subtly pulling at his restraints. But that obviously wouldn’t be the way out.

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She still felt a mess after the Doctor gave her some tea which was now warming her hands. “You’ sure he’s safe?” she asked again.

The Doctor gently took her head to kiss it, before he joined her on the sofa. “Yes,” he emphasized. “He’s secured. He won’t get free.” He softly blinked at her. “I promise.”

She searched his face for answers of questions she didn’t ask yet. “What are we gonna do with him?” she eventually whispered.

He missed a beat. “Are you sure you want to talk about this yet?”

She looked at him pleadingly. “Is time an issue in that matter?” She already knew, even before he nodded. “Well, then you have your answer,” she added.

“Rose, you’re still under shock,” he tried to argue.

She sighed. “Even if I am … I can handle it. I’ve handled so much worse before. So just tell me what we can…”

“I know that you’re strong,” he cut in, having her face in his hands, looking at her with these expressive brown eyes. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. And we’re going to act, I just want you to take a break for even a second.”

Oh God, if he continued this, she _would_ partly fall apart, and she didn’t need that right now. Not when there was something to do first. “I can’t,” she whispered, pleading. “Not now.”

He swallowed. “What I have in mind won’t be a cakewalk,” he revealed. “And you need to be concentrated for that. You need to be…”

He seemed to search for words, but she understood. “Mentally stable?” she offered.

There was an apologetical look on his face. “Yeah.”

She nodded. “So, what’s the plan? ‘M goin’ into his mind?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“But I can’t do anything,” she tried to explain. “I can’t see his mind or even do anything as specific as searching for his memories.” She frowned. “Are we… searching for his memories?”

“Yeah, we are. _You_ are,” he corrected.

“You’re putting a lot of faith into me,” she commented, unconvinced.

But he smiled tenderly. “Always.” She feebly reciprocated it, glad he was by her side but still more than sceptical. “But Rose …” he still hesitated, “if you don’t feel ready yet… if you want to talk…”

“I don’t even know what I have to be ready for,” she threw in.

He looked at her again with a tender gleam and a faint smile that was almost a little sad. “Yes, you do,” he disagreed. “You have to go into his head.”

_Oh. That._

They weren’t talking about the technical details.

“You think I will be confronted with what happened earlier,” she filled in the gaps.

“I _know_ you will be,” he countered.

Her look fell down, observing her tea. Not sure if she should even bring this up. The Doctor almost didn’t hear her when she spoke. “It’s not the first time he did that.”

He needed a moment to process that. “It’s not?” Confusion, astonishment, concern and maybe a little hurt was in his voice and face.

She shook her head. “The very first time …” she started. “He tried to get in.” She got quieter again. “It hurt. And Bad Wolf kicked him out.”

There was a long pause. Like time itself had a lapse. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “Seriously? Because it hadn’t mattered anymore when I finally had the chance to tell you.” She still didn’t look up, too much in thought. “He never did it again, and my attitude to the whole mind sharing had changed quite a bit.”

She needed a moment to realize he didn’t say anything, so she finally searched for him. He focused on her and she was unable to read his face. He could still do that. If he really wanted to, he could completely close off. “He’s changed, Doctor,” she decided to continue. “I know the Master in the other room is not the one I remember from the last months.” She slightly shook her head. “I won’t forget it.”

“But that’s the point, Rose,” he finally spoke up again, his face had a certain hardness. “He _is_ the same. He may have learned a few things, but he _is_ the same.”

She flinched a bit. “How can you say that?”

He eventually moved, leaning forwards, look intense. “Because I want you to be aware of that. I want you to be cautious. And I want you to _not_ forget it.”

She searched his face, doubt and confusion in her features. But finally, she swallowed. She was hesitant to ask but needed to know what he had in mind. “Okay. What is it that you plan?”

He pressed his lips together. “You said it yourself, you can’t see his mind. But there has been a way to talk to him and show him things in both your minds.”

He waited for it to click. “But I, as in my consciousness, wasn’t … _conscious_ ,” she argued after she remembered her little night walk when the Nisha parasite had taken over her body.

“I can help your body simulate this state.”

She frowned. “And then what?”

“Then?” he repeated, lifting his brows briefly. “Then you take a trip down memory lane.”

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“So I guess Rose filled you in?” the Doctor asked while building up some appliances around his chair.

“If _that’s_ Rose,” the Master shrugged, nodding in her direction.

“You haven’t figured that out yet?” the Doctor teased. “Slow learner.” He got an annoyed look from his opponent but turned towards Rose. She didn’t know if it was really necessary to provoke him like that, but on the other hand … he had to know what he was doing. He came to her, gently taking her hands. “You’re ready?”

She feebly smiled. “Bring it on.”

He hesitated but slid his hands to her cheeks. He whispered so quietly, even she could barely hear him. “You’re going to be fine,” he assured her.

She blinked at him. “I know.”

When he turned around, he attended to the Master again, bringing the device around him in position. And he took the opportunity to drop a hand onto the Master’s shoulder, leaning in close, watching him with an intense warning and a threatening glint in his eyes. “If something doesn’t go the way I want,” he started out lowly, “I’ll not only break this off and you lose your only chance to get your memories back … I’m gonna make it hurt in the process.”

The blond Time Lord started to grin, darkness in his eyes. “And how do I know what you want?” he challenged.

“Oh, you’ll know,” he assured him, patting his shoulder once and making room for Rose who took a chair to sit in front of the Master.

She observed him while the Doctor also built something around her. There was still a crooked grin on his face, and he watched her with a mixture of curiosity, disgust and annoyance. She supressed a sigh. This would be fun. “Let me ask you something,” she started. “Do you _want_ your memories back?”

He tilted his head and shrugged. “I suppose.”

“Then don’t fight this,” she countered. “It’ll be easier for all of us.”

He groaned. “Then stop yapping and start already.”

 _Prat._ But what’s new.

“Don’t you wanna know how it’ll work?” she asked. “You’re no good if you’re clueless.” She couldn’t help but taunting.

“I’m never clueless,” he immediately (predictably) shot back.

“’Course not,” she sneered a bit. “Nevertheless – the Doctor will put us in an unconscious state when I go into your head. So don’t wonder when you nod off.”

“Why?”

“We have our reasons.”

He huffed. “First you want me to ask questions and then …”

“Shut up,” she snapped, and he watched her with a murderous look. “You’re not the one in control here. You’d do well to remember that.”

He was chewing his teeth. “I’m going to have fun taking you apart, little girl,” he growled.

“We’ll see about that,” she simply answered and raised her hands, spreading her fingertips on his temples and let her eyes fall shut. She started to initiate it, feeling it almost work. The thing was, she had to let her emotions a bit loose for it to succeed, but right now, she rather wanted them contained. But she knew it wouldn’t work if she tried it too rationally. Or better, too tense.

Luckily, she didn’t have to. She felt the Doctor’s device working and slowly falling (kind of) asleep and that’s when it happened naturally.

It worked.

Everything was sombre and shady for a few seconds. Gradually, she felt her hands and legs and also saw them when she raised her arms. After a while she was able to see her surroundings, recognizing the TARDIS. Apparently, her mind always chose the TARDIS as a mindset.

There was something in the corner of her eyes, moving. She heard it move. She turned around (still a little sluggish) and saw the Master springing her way. “Looking for me?” The next moment, his fist came up to fly her way.

A light exploded around them, lightening up the place. His hand had landed nowhere on her body but her own hand, grabbing it, holding it firmly. The Master tried to get it out of there, but his eyes grew in confusion as he looked from their hands to her eyes. Rose felt herself glowing. “You muggins,” she scolded. “I kicked you down the last time you tried to fight me. What made you think you could beat me now?” She leaned in closer, squeezing his hand (or the equivalent to his hand) a little tighter. “I told you. _You_ are _not_ in control.”

He flinched a little at her iron grip. “Do you mind?” he hissed and nodded to their hands.

“Are you gonna behave now?” she prompted, maybe a little too teasingly, but she enjoyed the control she felt here.

There was a grin forming on his lips. It wasn’t really humorous and in his eyes was still darkness and deceit swimming. “Cross my hearts,” he answered sweetly.

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She decided to let him go. He pulled his hand back, shaking it. “How the heck are you so fucking strong?”

“Why don’t we start with this? I absorbed the Time Vortex,” she said and on clue, parts of the room changed. The TARDIS washed away, revealing a far younger Rose with glowing eyes who made the Daleks disappear.

The Master’s eyes widened. “Then why aren’t you dead?”

“It changed me,” she let him know. “And you help me control it.”

He hesitated, but turned his head around, observing her with a sly grin. “Oh, I believe you.”

“This ship has sailed, mister,” she replied, seeing his intention. “You can’t control it. You can’t have it. You do it to help _me_.”

The room started to change again, showing them her room on the TARDIS. “Can we do this at a later date?” Rose had asked him as they had started this. Shortly after the Master had joined them on the TARDIS.

There was a small, knowing smile on the memory-Master’s face. “Yeah, we can. But you should challenge yourself with things like this. It’s vital that you can control things.”

“I’m not quite so fond of control like you,” memory-Rose had countered.

“When dealing with Bad Wolf, you’d better.”

“Alright, okay, promise,” she had given in. “Just not now.”

“Bad Wolf …” the Master who was standing beside her whispered, slightly flinching.

“Ring some bells?” she inquired.

“Quite a few, actually.” He turned her way. “It’s inside you. Bad Wolf.”

She took a step in his direction, smiling a bit superior. “Honey … I _am_ the Bad Wolf.” She was echoing his words he said the last time they were in this state. She almost believed them right now.

Almost.

That was probably the reason he spoke up. “Oh, I don’t think your confidence is entirely real.” And the room started to change again without Rose being responsible for it. Her eyes grew as she watched the scene transpiring before her.

“Yeah, but I can’t really manipulate it!” memory-Rose had called out frustrated.

“If you want to fly, you first have to learn how to walk, little one,” he had grinned at her. “And that’s what we’re doing right now. Getting familiar with the structure.”

“Isn’t it frustrating for you to work with such a slow learner?” she had asked quietly.

He had tilted his head, observing her. “I already told you you’re doing fine.”

“Yeah, for a human,” she had huffed.

“ _Oh_ , you had _so many_ doubts,” the Master beside her commented.

“You remember?” she asked hopefully.

“Not really, but I’m discovering.”

She sighed. “Yeah well, ‘m doin’ alright, don’t ya think?”

He peered at her, seemingly up for some kind of challenge. “We’ll see.” He started striding away a bit. “Since when do I … _help_ you?”

Phew, good question. “Probably not before you came back.” He frowned, looking at her. “Oh, yeah. You died,” she informed him soberly.

“How did I…?”

The room was already moving, apparently reacting when some memory was triggered. “No, you stupid girl!” memory-Master had growled. Memory-Rose had been lying in his arms on the ground. “Why would you do that?! _I_ regenerate!”

“I … obviously didn’t want the bullet to hit me, dumbo,” she had answered feebly.

“Oh, I guess the bullet was for me,” the Master commented again.

“You always had a way of making friends,” Rose quipped.

“Did you actually take the bullet for me?” the Master asked almost amused. “Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t want the bullet to be fired at all,” he repeated, but swallowed a bit. “But to be honest, I also did it, because I care about you.”

He only chuckled at that and it was joined with the memory-Master’s chuckle. “It was never about me,” memory-Master had realized, still holding her. “Never about the drumming.” He had looked at her as if she should understand, but she didn’t. His hand had driven gently to her cheek, his face closing in to hers. “It was always about you, Rose,” he had whispered. “Sharing our life forces. It was for you.”

“What are you doing?” she had whispered with big eyes.

“Something right, for once,” he had smiled at her and his forehead had been touching hers. She had inhaled sharply, but already had been losing her consciousness.

Rose had never seen this from the outside. This was definitely not her memory. He had sighed deeply after a while, dipping his head without dissociating himself from her, but almost looking pained. She was a bit hypnotized by this picture, but she didn’t seem to be the only one. “I’m just giving up my life for you,” he concluded a bit dumbstruck.

She needed a moment to reply to that. “Yeah, you do,” she said almost without a voice.

He didn’t look at her. “Why?”

She observed the back of his head for a while before she answered that. “Because I’d like to think that you care about me as well.”

He turned around then, looking at her with unacceptance and denial.

But maybe also a little awe.

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“Why can’t _you_ go into his head?” Rose asked the Doctor after he had explained what he would do. “You’re telepathic and you know what you’re doing.”

“I have to monitor the whole process,” he said. “Bringing you back if I have to. If something goes wrong. Apart from that, I will be stimulating areas of your brains for triggering the memories you want to see. Giving it a nudge.”

Her look fell down. “Well, I can’t really argue with that,” she answered quietly, observing her folded fingers.

The Doctor had been standing up at some point, but he came closer again and crouched down before her, making her look at him again. “That being said,” he started almost as quietly. “There is a simple other reason why _you_ should do this.” She raised her brows confused. His smile was a thin line. “The key memories to bring him back … will be memories he shared with _you_. Not me.”

She let that sink in for a minute. And couldn’t really argue with that as well.

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“No,” the Master said.

“What no?” she asked puzzled.

“There are other reasons,” he argued. “I feel it. Timelines had to be preserved.”

She chuckled at that. “And since when do you care about timelines? You built a paradox machine!”

“That I did, and it worked _gloriously_ ,” memory-Master said in the background, the environment having changed again.

“I did?” the Master asked almost proud.

“And the TARDIS is keeping it together for me,” memory-Master continued to explain memory-Rose.

“I did,” the Master concluded. “This feels familiar. I actually built a paradox!”

“Don’t be so proud of yourself!” Rose scolded.

“Have you _any_ idea how tricky this was?” he defended himself.

“You took it all back, y’know.” And in the background, they could observe how the two of them were working in the TARDIS to reverse the paradox.

“How come we two did so much together when it was about stuff the Doctor would be angry with?” he threw in. “Where was he? I mean, you two _are_ a thing, right? Let’s see,” he concluded adventurous and their surrounding shifted, showing the Doctor and Rose run from a giant stone monster.

“Hey, these are _my_ memories!” she realised. “How can you…?”

“ _Shush_!” he hissed, while the memory-Rose and Doctor fled into the TARDIS in the last minute. They were breathing heavily, recognizing how unbelievably lucky they had been. Rose relived the memory. The Doctor had been looking at her full of wonder and relief and realization. Without warning, he had stepped into her personal space, grabbed her face and kissed the air out of her lungs.

This had been the start of their relationship. Well, their official one.

“Stop being a sodding voyeur,” she scolded again.

He chuckled. “What have we been doing these last minutes?” he challenged.

“That’s different. We are looking for memories _you_ lost.”

“True. But on the way we can have some fun, right?” he teased but a second later his eyes grew a bit while his forehead wrinkled. “Fun?” he echoed his own words.

And the room began to change. Rose panicked even before the picture became clear. “Stop it!” she hissed as right before their eyes _they_ appeared. On the Valiant. With him pressing her on the bed of his cell, snogging her senseless.

He was speechless for a second but started chuckling bewildered. “I guess I remember the reason for the familiarity I felt.”

“Great. Moving on, then!” she ordered.

“ _Oh_ , I fucking remember,” the Master ignored her and other sceneries of them making out appeared. On his bed from his rooms on the Valiant, on the table and wall after he had taken control of Earth, on his _freaking_ couch in her underwear (she hadn’t clear memories since she was drunk, duh) – this was the definition of awkward.

“Okay, that’s enough!” she decided to take control again.

Or at least she tried. She turned away, trying to disconnect it all. But her sight showed a bunch of blurry Masters, coming from all directions at once. “Is that why you caught the bullet for me?” she heard him ask. “Why you help me now?” He touched her shoulder but wasn’t really there as touches emerged from all directions like his voice did.

“Stop!” she spat, trying to get rid of his surrounding influence.

“Because we had a thing as well?” Suddenly his light touches became firmer even though she couldn’t place them.

“I said STOP!” she shouted out loud, shoving everything away from her and eventually seeing him landing in the corner. She almost fell to the ground, but his omnipresence was gone.

He chuckled while she was catching her breath. “Almost got’cha, didn’t I?”

She looked at him with an utter sombre expression. “Not even close.”

His next chuckle was under his breath. “But I’m talking about getting into your pants.”

She chewed her teeth for a second, before repeating whispery, “Not even close.”

“Don’t lie, little one.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He tilted his head. “Why not?”

“Because you didn’t earn that yet.”

“Earn?” he called out surprised. “What, should I snog you first?” he added tauntingly.

“It’s not about remembering the making out part,” she countered. “It’s about remembering your feelings and thoughts about it.”

“What?” he still taunted. “Closer, faster, harder?”

She grimaced in disgust. “You’re gross!”

“You seemed to like it.”

She missed a beat but decided to change tack and trying to take a step back – emotionally. “So did you. But never enough to break my wishes.”

His brow lifted shortly in slight boredom. “Meaning?”

“You always stopped when I told you to – even when I wasn’t able to say it.”

The scene changed to the earlier couch, when she was drunk. She had no clear memory of what had happened, so this was his. He was hovering above her, obviously dipping in her mind, his hands held her cheeks, gently stroking over her skin and his forehead leaning on hers. _(She was NOT turned on by the dim memory of it, okay?!)_ He sighed, like something became clear for him. His lips thereupon found hers, moving them carefully against hers until he slightly broke apart. “You’re quite drunk,” he grinned at her, having an almost warm expression as he watched her. “You should sleep it off.”

Before he could comment on the scene, another one followed the first one. This was the one from his rooms back then. The one where he surprised her, caught her off-guard.

The one she almost gave in.

She had participated. Kissing him back in equal measure. But started crying in the process. There were so many mixed emotions on her face, she relived them all right now. In the memory, the Master started to soothe her. “Shsh,” he made, not kissing her anymore, only leaning his forehead on hers. “That was me, ‘m sorry,” he whispered calmingly and honestly. His thumbs were stroking her tears away. There was actual guilt in his face, mixed up with blatantly obvious arousal. He stayed close, maintaining the intimate contact. But he said, “I’m not gonna shag you, I promise. Just want your mind.” He went even quieter. “And maybe some stolen kisses.”

“Obviously, I was manipulating you,” the actual Master finally found some words. His whole demeanour lost his taunt, though. Now, there was slight anger he tried to hide.

“We both know that’s not true,” Rose countered. “You _remember_ , you _feel_ it. You even apologized to me and we both know you don’t do that kind of shit just to please.”

“I guess I should apologize,” memory-Master revealed in the background. The whole movements and words had been so uncharacteristically timid. “I didn’t mean to scare you last night.”

She was tipping the teabag into the hot water, reflecting. “Are you alright?” she enquired again.

Rose knew the Master felt it. The way memory-Master was drawn to memory-Rose and couldn’t help that feeling. “Do you really want to know?” he had asked.

Memory-Rose sighed, examining her mug. “You _know_ I care,” she almost grumbled and then licked her lips. “And yeah … it scared me a little.”

“I didn’t mean to,” he repeated emphatically. “I wasn’t in control like I should have been.”

“I’m bored,” the Master threw in, finally standing up and turning his back as memory-Master continued. “I didn’t hurt you,” he asked reluctantly, “did I?”

“Not interested in our story anymore?” Rose challenged.

“Yes, but in the fun part, not the boring part,” he countered.

“You remember,” she simply stated.

And heard him sigh. “Not sure about that. You’re quite powerful, you could trick me.”

Oh, she was getting through, finally. She slowly closed in, watching his back turned to her. She gently stretched out her hand to touch his shoulder. “You know I don’t,” she said softly. “Deep down, you know.”

She wasn’t expecting the deadly look when he turned his face. “Don’t touch me,” he spat lowly. She pulled her hand back like she had been burned but froze afterwards. Eventually, he added, “Why the TARDIS?”

She blinked at that, still startled by his attitude. “Whot?”

“Why choose the TARDIS to be your mind?” he elaborated. “Don’t you have a home?”

Her lips pulled slightly inwards for a second. “The TARDIS is my home.”

He raised a brow. “What about Earth? Since you’re allegedly human.”

“I _am_. But this is my home.”

“Lost your roots, haven’t you?” he probed, and she felt him working in their minds, trying to find and trigger something.

She sighed, suddenly feeling heavy. “It’s not the issue right now, okay?”

“But it’s an issue nonetheless.”

Blimey, this was exhausting. She _had_ power here, but he had a way of wearing her down. She was aware that he was constantly wriggling through her. She couldn’t prevent the images from appearing.

Memory-Rose stood in front of Jackie, a beach stretching to their side. “’m so sorry, mom,” she brought out, barely keeping it together. She remembered how she had died inside but couldn’t let herself fall apart.

“But we could all just come with-“, memory-Jackie protested, but Rose wouldn’t let her.

“You’ve got a _life_ here,” she had disagreed. “You’ve got dad _and_ a son!”

“But I won’t have you, s’what you’re saying.”

Tears almost broke out then, she had felt them pressing against her burning eyeballs. “I can’t stay,” her voice broke during this sentence. She _literally_ couldn’t.

“It’s our bond,” the Master realised. At first, Rose was irritated from his voice before she acknowledged he was still here. “It changed you. It could have been dangerous for you to stay. Like it was for the TARDIS.”

Rose felt strangely worn out. Reliving that particular memory frazzled her out. Her eyes found the Master nonetheless. “You remember the bond, then?”

His lids sunk for a second, in thought. “Apparently,” he let on quietly.

“It’s hard to say if it was the bond alone or everything that comes with Bad Wolf,” she explained, very prosaically. “But yeah. There was a good possibility that it would have been dangerous.”

The provocative sparkle returned to his eyes. He always seemed to change between the Master she came to know and the other one. “So _you_ decided for your mother to stay.” He grinned then, a chuckle followed. “You must have felt exactly like the Doctor. Making hard decisions for the greater good sucks and feels great at the same time, doesn’t it?”

She flinched. “What are you sayin’?”

“Oh, you know,” he tantalised her. “You _could_ have stayed, there was a chance that it wouldn’t have hurt you, but you _wanted_ to stay with the Doctor, and it gave you the perfect opportunity to be a tragic hero, just like your lover!”

She was shocked – and hurt. “You’re full of shit!” she exclaimed enraged.

“Am I, though?” he countered, moving closer to her. “It hurt to leave them, sure, but you asked yourself – many nights – what you would have done if there hadn’t been any bond. Any Bad Wolf.” Even closer. And louder. “ _That’s_ what’s hurting you the most. Because you _ordered_ your family to stay, back then – with or without the bond!”

“You don’t know jack,” she hissed.

“ _Oh_ , I know so much,” he suddenly sighed, and before she knew it, his hand was in her hair. “ _So_ fucking much, Rose,” he even shuddered, there was some longing in his eyes but it was mixed up with mania. “I know your _whole_ fucking mind.”

She kind of tried to squirm out of his closeness but simultaneously wanted to stay. “You remember?”

“Starting to. Not completely comfortable with all of it.” It was then when she felt that he was already deeper inside, suddenly tearing at her in a way that was painful. She hissed and instantly tried to cut him out – mostly succeeding. He winced, jerking back a little. “I want the memories back, not…” he growled but stopped himself, peering at her as he tried to get closer again mentally but being held back by her.

“Not _what_?” she spat, slowly being fed up with him. Until something dawned on her. “The feelings,” she concluded. “You want the memories and the knowledge, but not the accompanying feelings.” She huffed, rolling her eyes. “It doesn’t work like that. You can only have both!”

“Bollocks,” he squeezed out, trying to get free of her mental grip.

“You better get in touch with your feelings again, mate,” she started taunting him again. “Because you’re getting them back. With a little help.” Her hands searched for his temples, but he fought back which resulted in her having the feeling as if her hands were moving through clay and not though air, not touching his scull yet. Her eyes fell shut. “Any time now, Doctor,” she whispered to herself.

She had asked the Doctor how they could fix his memories again. So that they stayed. If there was a way. Apparently, he had worked on some ideas. And he seemed carefully optimistic that he could affix them to him again – when they were present in his mind again. Which was something only _she_ could do. And only in _this_ state of mind. And she hoped that she had done enough for that.

The Master growled, as she reached his temples. “You’re really forcing this on me?” he panted reproachfully, challenging her.

She missed a beat then. But her exhaustion broke through. “What else am I supposed to do? The memories are rushing back now anyway and they’re yours! They _belong_ to you, whether you want them or not! _Oh_ and – let’s not forget that you _die_ if we don’t fix you. So yeah! I don’t give you a bloody choice right now.”

“Like you forced your family to stay back?” he spat out. She ignored him and tried to get his memories all in place. He was just trying to get under her skin. He growled again. “Okay, _fine_ ,” he hissed strained, still trying to fight her off. “Since I’m more honest now than I will be, I have to say a few things! You pick up traits from the Doctor you hate on him. You become very jaded sometimes. And at the same time, you know the Doctor could treat you the same way any day now.” He flickered away for a few seconds, a side effect from what she was trying, and it hurt him, making him shout. She didn’t flinch away. She had to stay focused if this should work. He panted and cursed after he was solid again, but seemed all the more livid, boring into her eyes. “And to think I would help you,” he snarled. “Stupid, little girl. You traded your family against a life full of uncertainty and insincerity.” His look became even more sombre, and more malicious. “In the end,” he growled lowly, “I’m only helping you, because I have still hope to control Bad Wolf and if not that,” he huffed, grinning darkly, “at least to get into your pants.”

She was too annoyed with him. “And you never get tired of your own voice, do ya? There’s still no other way. You’re getting your memories _and_ feelings back!”

And at this cue, another pair of hands found the Master’s temples from behind. The Doctor was suddenly standing there and together they were binding the Master’s loose memories back to his essence, preventing them from detaching again and again.

Rose felt how utterly exhausted she was even more when the Doctor came to succour her. He knew techniques, she had some handy abilities. Together, they were patching up the broken Time Lord whose resistance got less and less even though he screamed more out of pain.

But in the end, he even played a part in sorting himself out as well.

Rose asked herself how long this would take, because she felt herself slipping away. That’s when it all ended suddenly with a bright flash. She flinched but wasn’t in the control room anymore. She needed a few seconds to recognise the holding cell – with her sitting on a chair opposite to the Master. And he looked just as confused and exhausted as her. The Doctor was standing behind him and drove his hands over his face in an attempt to clear his head as well.

Finally, he walked around to face his fellow Time Lord. “How do you feel, then?”

He was squirming ever so slightly and only marginally noticing his restrains. He wasn’t really there yet, still processing. “More complete, I guess,” he eventually answered reluctantly.

“Any pain?”

After a moment, he focused on the Doctor, actually looking at him. “Aftermath,” he simply stated. “But not the ‘I’m vanishing out of existence’-kinda pain.”

There was a restrained not-quite-smile on the Doctor’s face. “Sounds promising,” he offered. And he went to open his bonds on the armrest.

Rose couldn’t help voicing her first impulse. “You sure yet?” she held the Doctor back. His eyes met hers and she could feel the Master’s stare on her.

The Doctor understood her feelings, but obviously had not so many concerns. “It’s safe, Rose,” he promised calmly.

But how could he be sure? Okay, she kind of felt it all click together as well and the only reason the Master had a relapse was because these memories were missing, so it would make sense that everything was back to normal now. But was it? Was is that easy to go back to normal?

She swallowed her uneasiness. “Alright then,” she said, offering a small smile. She trusted the Doctor. He would never risk something like that. But she had to go now, couldn’t stay longer in this room. So she was getting on her feet. “I gotta lie down for a minute. See you later,” she told them and expected the Doctor’s question.

“Are _you_ alright?”

“Yes,” she empathised immediately. “Promise. Just need a minute. Only human here, after all.” She winked at the last bit but fled the room immediately after.

The Doctor got it, really. He tended to the Master’s restraints, opening them up. He was uncharacteristically quiet and not moving even after he was freed. The Doctor had his hands stemmed against his waist, watching his counterpart for several moments. “You’re staying then?” he finally asked.

The Master sighed. “As a matter of fact, yeah. Gotta let stuff sink in.” He peered at the Doctor with dry humour. “And the seat’s bloody comfy.”

“Stand up for a second, though,” the Doctor requested, gesturing with his hand. The blond one frowned, but eventually did as he was told.

Only to feel the Doctor’s fist knocking his cheek and crashing him to the hard ground. Out of sheer luck he landed on his hands, not his face. “ _Heavens_!” flew out of his mouth.

“You can be a bloody piece of trash, you know that?” the Doctor informed him with a dangerous calmness. The Master huffed, only briefly looking up to him, not answering. What was there to say? He heard the Doctor lean a bit closer. “If you hurt her again, I throw you out of the airlock – won’t care if you have your bloody memories or not.” With that he started to leave the room. “Have fun letting that sink in,” he added before vanishing.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When the Doctor looked for Rose later, she was in their room, fast asleep. She was still in her clothes, obviously not having planned to go to sleep. She really was exhausted. He tucked her up and gently stroked her strand out of her face. He was still wary about her partaking in all these telepathy issues. It was undeniable that she had powers. But like she said – she was only human. And he was still not convinced that this was all innocuous for her. The Master was a fierce advocate for strengthening her abilities, but it was obviously something _he_ wanted. And the Doctor sometimes didn’t know if he could trust him to recognise this line.

But right now, this wasn’t the only thing that would go through her mind. She was exhausted on multiple levels.

They will see, what the morning will bring.


	8. Aftermath (Or: What makes a person?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one again, but I like it this way. (Because it neither fits to the last one nor the next one.)

Rose had slept like a log. She had been so far gone, she probably wouldn’t have heard a truck running through her room. At least, she felt a little more rested now. Just not – completely.

She put on some baggy clothes and tied her hair to a ponytail. After getting some tea in the kitchen, she discovered the Doctor in the control room. “Morning,” she greeted him.

He looked up. “Hey,” he answered, walking away from the console and to her. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she promised. “A little sapped, to be honest. But okay.”

“We’ talking about the telepathy or the emotional aftermath?” he asked, being dead-on.

She sighed and walked to the jump seat, letting herself fall into in. “Both, I guess. I dunno.” The Doctor had walked over to sit down as well. She was completely in thought for a moment, staring into nothingness. She wasn’t really okay. There were many things that were on her mind. “Doctor, did I abandon my family?”

“What?” he asked clearly surprised.

“I could have stayed,” she argued feebly. “Maybe.”

The Doctor tried to ignore the stab of fear, hearing this. An impulse he had, always when there was a chance of losing her. “It would’ve been dangerous,” he instead said cautiously.

She came to realise that she was fighting tears. “But maybe we could’ve looked more into it, found something…”

At first, he obviously thought she was being homesick, but then realisation hit him. He instantly grouched down before her, taking her hands in his. “The danger for you was _real_ ,” he empathised. “It _wasn’t_ an excuse to make this decision, you hear me?”

She was still battling tears. “I always hated it when you took decisions away from me.”

Okay, this was still hazardous territory. “You couldn’t have stayed, Rose,” he repeated. “That would have been rash and _very_ risky.”

“But they could’ve stayed,” she countered and swallowed.

He hesitated, observing her face, unsure how to respond to that. “If it’s any worth … I think it was the best you could have done out of this situation.”

She looked defensive. “But that’s the point,” she stated bitterly. “I’m not sure if it’s any worth, in this case.” To say he didn’t feel slapped by that would be a lie. But she continued before he could say something. “Making decisions for someone else is _never_ okay, Doctor.”

He sighed. “You and Jackie talked about it and even if it was hard, in the end, everyone knew this was for the best. Otherwise, she would have argued harder ultimately.”

She was shaking her head. “You don’t know that.”

“What is the issue here, Rose?” he wanted to know, only partly able to hide his own temper. “Do _we_ have to talk about something? Because I haven’t decided for you in a long time. Are you in any way angry at _me_?”

“No! If anything, I’m angry at _me_.”

“Because you don’t want to become like me?” It was a question and simultaneously a statement.

She wanted to protest, but something got stuck in her throat. She swallowed the heavy lump. “Since I met you, I kinda wanted to become like you,” she answered calmer. “But there are moments when I wonder what is left of _me_.” He eyes fell to her lap. “The Master said I lost my roots, earlier,” she continued. “And it echoed what my mom once said to me. That when she’s gone, I have nothing to come back to. And that I’ll change. That I’m not Rose Tyler anymore…” the next sentence was only a bitter whisper. “Not even human.”

He honestly couldn’t answer right away. “She was just afraid, Rose.”

“No, she was spot-on,” she disagreed. “I mean, look at me.”

He sighed, but took her face in his gentle hands, look intense. “You’re still Rose Tyler. And you’re still human. You’re still the woman I fell in love with all these years ago.” There was a small, warm smile emerging. “Bad Wolf or not, walking the Earth or some other planet – you’re still brilliant.”

A tear didn’t hold and rolled over her cheek. “But am I still me?” she whimpered.

“You’re always you, Rose. When you’re not possessed just now.” He winked a little. And she chuckled a bit shuddering. “I’ll tell you what. We’re gonna visit Earth for a while. See what Jack is up to. Would you fancy that?”

Her smile was thankful. “Yeah, I would. In a day or two would be great.”

“Done,” he reassured her warmly. And she squeezed his hands gently.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The talk with the Doctor had certainly helped. But she couldn’t deny she had a bit of an identity crisis. Sometimes, she really didn’t know who she was anymore. So much had happened. Meeting her 19-year old self would be majorly surreal. But maybe change was normal.

Deep in thought in front of a bookshelf in the library, she heard a hrumph. By turning around she saw the Master.

Or _maybe_ people couldn’t change at all.

He apparently had been sitting there for a while now, even before she had entered the room. He gestured a little unfocused. “I thought I should make myself known.”

“Um, yeah, s’good,” she said guarded, but walked a bit closer. “How’re ya doin’? Feeling okay?”

He propped his head on his fingertips while his arm was leaning on the armrest. His legs were crossed and stretched out on a stool. He waited a moment before he answered. “I’m feeling a bit talkative, to be honest.” With that, his legs slid to the ground and he leaned forwards, propping his arms on his thighs. “But I don’t really know how to start.”

She missed a beat but huffed slightly. “Well, I guess this is a first,” she muttered.

“First of all, this is me having all my memories back, no missing pieces, you don’t have to worry.”

He sounded reassuring, but she couldn’t help the cautious glance. “And that makes you another person?”

There was silence after that in which they held their gazes. The Master totally understood where she was coming from. And she had a valid point. He swallowed with a certain heaviness. “I’m sorry,” he said with a serious intensity. “I’m sorry I crossed your boundaries, but I didn’t make it out of fun. I made it because I saw no other way.”

“Because you thought this was the _easiest_ way, it’s a difference,” she argued.

“Easiest means fastest, and with the Doctor aboard, time was a delicate issue.”

“And my brain _isn’t_?” she suddenly got louder, verging on screaming.

He jumped up at that, coming closer. “Yes, it _is_. Delicate and precious.” He wanted to touch her this instant, take her face in his hands. But he stopped himself before they could touch her cheeks, unsure of how she’d react. Because she was already backing off ever so slightly at his sudden movements. “I won’t hurt you. You said it yourself, you feel safe with me.”

“Yeah, but this showed me again how unpredictable you can be. Because the Doctor would never hurt me even if he lost all memories of our time.” This statement stung more than he wanted to admit. “You _are_ dangerous and have been for many centuries. And I seriously don’t know which is the real you.”

He never lost eye contact, breath a bit heavy. “Why can’t it be both?”

“Oh yeah, and what makes more sense? That you’re capable of change or that you play the act to get to Bad Wolf somehow. Or forming me into your instrument!”

Now he sighed, rolling his eyes as he looked to the side. “Is that what you think?” he finally got out. “You seem to forget that you can _feel it all_.”

“And I can take this at face value, yeah?” she argued. “I don’t know your abilities, you could fake and camouflage a whole lot of it!”

He actually chuckled at that, but there was an incredulous bitterness underneath it all. “You put a question mark over really _everything_ , don’t you?”

“Why shouldn’t I?” she countered, sighing. “You weren’t possessed. You weren’t under any influence.” She became even calmer. “You were just you.”

She wasn’t wrong. And it felt like a rejection unlike any other. “Can’t deny that,” he answered. “But these last months … I was also just me.” He knew he was acting differently these last months. It was blatantly obvious. But for some reason, both of these versions of him felt true to himself. He wasn’t acting. And he knew that he was perfectly able to act similar like before with other people, depending on the circumstances. And that was the point. He was mainly different with _her._ But it wasn’t an act. She looked at him full of doubt and apprehensiveness, he felt her fleeing and he wanted to prevent that. “Rose, please, you know me in a way no one else does,” he started and couldn’t prevent his fingers from finally finding her cheeks. “Not even the Doctor.” She couldn’t bolt, not now. But that was exactly what she was doing, winding out of his grip before his forehead could find hers.

“Don’t touch me, please,” she whispered, but he only partly listened, leaving her a bit space without removing his hands completely from her. She found his eyes again. “How can I trust you?”

He doubted she would accept a telepathic connection right now, so that would be out of the question. He started shaking his head. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “But to be honest, I can’t constantly beg for your approval. I wear pretty much everything on my sleeve, _especially_ when we’re connected.”

Her eyes flickered away. “You shouldn’t have to beg, I don’t want you to. But why did you say the things you said, what was your motivation?”

“What, things like I’m still looking for a way to take over Bad Wolf?”

“For example,” she nodded faintly. _Let’s ignore the statement about getting into her pants._

“I remember being angry.” His voice got quieter, more intimate. “Because, honestly, being with you means giving up a lot of control. And you know how fond of it I am.” She couldn’t even look straight at him anymore. “I felt it. That being with you means giving up control from time to time. So I lashed out. Searched for ways to hurt you.”

“Did I force these memories on you?” she asked feebly, echoing another accusation from him.

His finger found her chin, gently directing her up to him. “However uncomfortable I sometimes am with these … I’ll never want to miss them.”

“I don’t want to be the one who forces decisions on everyone else,” she whispered.

He just grinned. “Maybe you should when you can in the particular moment.”

Okay, this was another matter altogether which was best untouched for now. She definitely didn’t think that having the power was a licence to use it at will. But she knew he thought otherwise. “Master?” she simply asked.

“Yes?” he grinned softly.

“Do you search for ways to own Bad Wolf?”

He sighed. He didn’t know how to answer that without pissing her off. But he wanted to be honest right now. “Not actively at the moment, no.”

She flinched a little at that. “Do you think you’ve got a chance?” she challenged him instead.

He smiled lightly, scanning her face, somehow gotten close again. “Still talking about Bad Wolf?”

She barely missed a beat at that. “What else should I be talking about?”

His chuckle was a breathy huff. He decided to just answer her actual question. “Maybe I’ll never know,” he offered. His hand wandered again into her hair. “If not, I’ve got very close to it instead and felt wonderful enough.”

She didn’t shrug him off, even though she considered if she maybe should. “This talk started with me trying to find out if you have changed. And I still haven’t an answer.”

He grinned a little, his hands cradled her hair, slipping into her strands and feeling her skin underneath. “There’s one thing I can assure you with certainty. That I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you like this.” On command, his fingers slid to her temple and her lids fluttered almost shut at the sensation. It was tempting, letting him in right here, washing all these unpleasant memories away.

“You hurt me,” she slurred a bit, having trouble keeping her eyes open.

His other hand found her other temple, playing with the potential connection, and he closed in even more, nudging her nose with his. “Pain is the last thing I want to give you,” he mumbled.

“I’m afraid,” she suddenly confessed. Her eyes opened and she looked up to him. “Afraid I let you get too close.”

His lids were lowered a bit as he subtly smiled. “Maybe we two can’t be with _or_ without each other.” There was something about this whole situation, making him try to get closer again and again until he had trouble keeping him from diving in, initiating a connection. She was so close, literally in his hands and he had almost lost it all, all these feelings and desires that he now all felt ready to lash out at once and clouding his judgement. “Rose, I want …” he whispered huskily against her lips, but her hands found his chest to keep him at distance.

“I need time,” she refused him. As she leaned back, already ready to leave and not even looking at him, she added, “And space.”

With that, he heard her steps slowly disappearing.

That’s when he realised that he still felt all over the place. He felt guilty and he couldn’t help that feeling twisting his guts. But having her close was something _he_ needed right now – not her.


	9. Of Recovery, Realizations and Dances (and Screwdrivers)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a happy new year! Hopefully, it will be better than the last one.

The Master ducked his head as explosions rattled behind him. Just moments before he had fled behind a broken wall that was miraculously still standing, sitting on the ground, his back to said wall. His hands had been briefly to his ears but now sank to the ground, a mixture of annoyance and uneasiness on his face, as further explosions thundered around him.

He did _not_ startle as a figure slid around the corner beside him, thank you very much!

“So, still alive then?” he asked the Doctor drily. “Where the hell did you leave Rose?”

“She’s gone,” he sighed restrained, dust all over him.

“ _Gone_?!” the Master spat.

“Yeah, she’s not _dead_ , so stop the death look!” the Doctor hissed right back. “She wasn’t anywhere after the explosion blew us all apart.” His dark stare was straight ahead in thought. “But I have a good idea where she went.”

There was a heavy sigh from his side, the Master thudded his head back to the wall. “She’s going to fucking die in there.”

“Where’s your confidence in Bad Wolf when it’s needed?!” the Doctor nagged, mind clearly racing.

“She’s. _Still. Human,_ ” he crunched through his teeth.

“And that’s what I’m _always trying to tell you_!” the Doctor straight-out yelled in his face. After a second, he groaned loudly into the air, leaning back again. “Okay, fine, it’s gonna be fine,” he jabbered more to himself.

“How?!” the Master scolded.

“Because I _have a_ _plan_ ,” he shot right back, growling. His open mouth was breathing heavily as he watched the blond Time Lord observing him. He needed to swallow. “Fancy your screwdriver back?”

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The Doctor found the Master in the library. He was pretty sure he had heard him, but he didn’t react, simply turning the page of his book while he sat on the couch.

The Doctor sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “We’re going out now.”

Another page was turned.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, supressing a groan. “Master?” he said with obvious annoyance.

“I heard every word you said,” he finally replied. “You’re going out now. I wish you the finest entertainment.”

“You’re not coming, then?”

He snorted. “Why would you think that?”

“I didn’t, I just wanted to make sure,” he pattered emotionless, already turning around to leave the room. The Master didn’t add anything.

When he was coming into the control room, Rose was leaning on the console, expecting him. “No Master, then?” she asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

“Well, it’s hardly a surprise, innit?” she said. “I bet Jack isn’t keen on seeing him as well. I think it’s for the best, to be honest.”

“Yeah, true, but … I don’t know… leaving him here …”

That alarmed her. “What, don’t you think he can be trusted?”

The Doctor sighed. “I don’t think anything will happen, but it’s still strange. There are parts of me that completely welcome the thought, like I know if something happens, the TARDIS will be with no one safer than with him. Other parts … not so much.”

Okay, now she couldn’t stop the small smile, while she was thoughtfully looking down. She eventually took steps forwards to take his hands in hers. “Deep down … you know the answer. Right?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Let’s go to Jack.”

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Seeing them dance was hypnotizing somehow. Even though the Doctor couldn’t make this one step right for the love of God. The Master sat lazily on the jump seat, his feet were propped up on a table that stood there, filled with food and drinks. Rose and Jack were a bit tipsy, music was echoing against the walls and she had convinced the Doctor to show her an Bereedian (alien) dance, fitting to the music playing. (It had similarities with Earth dances.)

She acted totally normal despite everything that had happened. In general, she seemed a lot more light-headed now. Okay, the booze might have something to do with that as well. Humans get awfully fast drunk. But she was in such a good mood right now, it made him almost forget that maybe the Doctor could be right and that dealing with Bad Wolf might be just something he couldn’t completely estimate himself. That maybe pushing her into it without fully understanding it was something to reconsider. But seeing her with such confidence was on the other hand showing him that she could in fact handle it. That he was right to encourage her.

But one step at a time. Right now, they were enjoying this evening and even _he_ was missing the usual annoyance from being in a room with Harkness or seeing the never faltering bond between Rose and the Doctor. What annoyed him though, was that one bloody misstep from the Doctor.

He sprung to his feet, not able to bare it. Yes, he was a perfectionist.

“Bloody hell, Doctor,” he groaned. “Are you simply clueless or incapable?”

“A bit of both, actually,” he snickered, as his counterpart stepped in. “I danced this only twice and the last time was five centuries ago.”

Rose looked amazed. “You know, even if it’s obvious, I sometimes forget how old you two are.”

The Master took her right hand, his other hand landed on her hip. “That’s because we still look dashing,” he grinned.

“Can’t argue with that,” she giggled.

“I like you drunk, ever told you that?” he couldn’t bite back.

“Weren’t you going to show me something?” she challenged.

“Watch my steps. And forget the Doctor’s.” He started leading and despite her being tipsy, she picked up on it pretty quick. “Now isn’t that smoother?” he praised himself.

Rose laughed. “Much.”

“Now watch out,” he said and suddenly twirled her around. She called out surprised at the sudden movement. Slightly tumbling, he pulled her back again and she steadied herself on his shoulders, laughing heartfelt. His heart swelled a bit as he watched her. “Again?”

“You bet, that wasn’t fair,” she answered in good humour.

“Playing fair is boring,” he stated and had her twirling and laughing again.

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“There better not be an alien invasion,” Jack greeted them, stepping out of a house in the middle of nowhere under which he must have some fancy alien tech according to the Doctor’s scans.

“You’re hard to find these days, Jack,” the Doctor greeted him as he and Rose stepped forward over the windy landscape. They were somewhere in Scotland.

“Not much for crowds these days,” the immortal shrugged. He couldn’t stop the smile on his face as he saw Rose’s blossom. She didn’t hesitate. Her arms swung around his neck, pressing herself up to him. “Ugh, it’s so good to see you, Jack!”

“Right back at ya’,” he laughed. “Come on in you guys.”

Inside, he served them some tea. Rose was sitting on the wooden table, holding her mug while the Doctor – never able to stand still – sauntered around. “It’s beautiful here,” she commented. “But I never thought you’d choose to live so … folksy. The furniture, everything is like a holiday lodge.”

“That’s because he’s mostly downstairs,” the Doctor added, before turning around. “Right?”

“True, but it’s sometimes unexpectedly relaxing up here,” he answered, sitting down on a chair as well. “You can take a look if you want.”

“Thanks. I probably will.” There had been some interesting readings from the scan, and he was quite curious about it.

“So, what brings you here?” he finally asked, and then grinned. “Or did you just want to see me?”

“As a matter of fact, yeah,” Rose answered. “It’s been a few tough days and I needed … this.”

His look got serious again. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“S’okay.”

“You want to get drunk?” he only half joked. “I had some shitty days as well.”

She grinned but had an empathetic look. “Maybe later. And are you okay?”

His smile was soft. “Gotta be.” She just reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. He smiled thankfully, but obviously didn’t want to deepen the topic. “How is the situation with the psychopathic Time Lord? Last thing you told me was that he was alive but the situation under control.” He looked at the Doctor.

He sniffed and turned towards them to sit at the table as well. “Still the same.”

“He’ traveling with you?” They both nodded. “Gee, and still he didn’t come,” Jack added drily. “I’m hurt.”

“Maybe next time,” the Doctor joked. “So what are you up to, these days … with k’honic radiation down there and all…”

Rose frowned, but Jack chuckled. “You can just go downstairs and knock yourself out, Doctor.”

“Whot, no, I just…” he disagreed flustered, rubbing over his hair, “just thought…”

Now Rose had to grin as well. “You want to play with Jack’s toys, Doctor?” she teased fondly.

“Now that sounded a lot dirtier than you probably intended,” Jack commented. “But then again – who knows.”

“It was _not_ intended, thank you very much,” Rose insisted in good humour.

Jack grinned but didn’t comment it further. “In fact, I got some kind of case I’d like to hear your opinion on,” he told the Doctor.

“Oh?” he said.

“If you two wanna go down, go for it,” Rose threw in. “I’m gonna walk a bit outside though, yeah? Came here to escape from all that for a while.”

“It isn’t urgent or anything,” Jack started, but she interrupted.

“It’s totally fine, I promise. I’m even gonna join you soon. So go ahead.”

They exchanged looks, but finally did as they were told. Rose grabbed a blanket on the sofa, because outside it was windier than expected. While the two men went downstairs, she took a few steps over the wide, quiet open, clawing her fingers into the blanket wrapped around her. It was beautiful here. Even though with a certain heaviness.

Or maybe it was just her.

It felt good being on solid ground again. She kind of needed that. Being grounded. She truly felt the heavy awareness that traveling with not one but even two Time Lords was more than she was supposed to handle.

She loved this life. She _did_. And it wasn’t even like she _couldn’t_ handle it all. She evidently could. She just wasn’t _supposed_ to. With Bad Wolf in the mix she felt like she was losing too much of herself in the process that she really wanted to keep. She wanted the stars, the adventure and the challenges, she wanted it all. But she wanted to stay herself. Not lose herself completely.

That was one of the reasons she hadn’t really talked to the Master these last days. She sometimes didn’t trust herself with him. She knew she could go lost in him. There are moments when she thought he had already proven himself, and other moments when she thought trusting him _ever_ would be mistake.

She had rolled with so many things since she had met the Doctor. And mostly she thought that was a good thing. But if you’re always rolling, you distance yourself further and further from your starting point. And at the beginning, she wanted to roll _as far_ from it as _possible_. Changing who she was. Until she didn’t know anymore who she was.

But when she felt that _she_ was changing so much – why couldn’t she accept that the Master could change as well?

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“Anyway, I don’t think this guy is human,” Jack explained the Doctor down in his lab. “I think he is stranded here and experiments with k’honic radiation to make his tech work again. Problem is, since he’s here … people started to vanish. And I somehow doubt it’s a coincidence.”

“They’re simply missing?” the Doctor asked, specs in place as he observed the data.

“Yeah. So I managed to steal some of his trash with said radiation, to find out if it isn’t that harmless, but… it is, isn’t it?”

The Doctor raised his brows for a second. “Well, it _should_ be.”

“Care to take a look?”

“Certainly.” He pulled out his screwdriver and heard steps from behind.

Rose was ascending the stairs, the blanket still around her shoulders. “Whatcha doin’?” she asked a little frisky. “You got to play?” It had felt good being alone for a while and a wide open that wasn’t space. Having cleared her head, she now felt like a little distraction would be good.

“In a way, yes,” was the Doctor’s reply. “This metal has k’honic radiation.”

“Ugh,” Rose frowned. “Doesn’t sound healthy.”

“Don’t worry,” he grinned and the next instance, he had it in his hands and throwing it in the air before catching it again. “It’s harmless. Here, see.”

She half expected him to throw it to her, to be honest. She didn’t expect that the moment she touched it, hot light would burn up behind her eyes, before everything around her got black and the muffled voices of the Doctor and Jack were silenced.

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“Fishes?” Rose called out over the music.

“I brought some _dishes_ ,” the Doctor corrected laughing.

“You’re a dish, too,” she winked at him.

“Hmm,” he snickered, pulling her close. “I _know_.”

“I know you know,” she chuckled. “That’s why you need more time in front of the mirror than me.”

He looked scandalized. “That’s _so_ not true, and you know it!”

She grinned, winding her arms around his shoulders. “You wanted to teach me another dance.”

“ _Ah_ , okay, yeah,” he said high-pitched. “First insulting me and then expecting help, that’s how I like it.” He faked his pouting and was turning around to flee, held back by a laughing Rose grabbing his arm.

“Wait.” She pulled him back, stepping close. “Come on, dance with me,” she whispered seductively. “I know you dance.”

He mirrored her suggestive grin. “You know exactly how I dance,” he murmured, leaning in. But instead of kissing her, he swung her around, hearing her laugh. “Explaining or learning by doing?” he challenged.

“The latter,” she answered. “Did I ever do something differently?”

“Nope,” he said, and he was leading her across the control room. He was unbelievably relieved to see that she seemed okay. More so, she was in a majorly good mood. His first instinct to scan her thoroughly was therefore suspended to a later date. He was aware that Bad Wolf protected her. He was aware that it wasn’t necessarily beneficial for her in the long run. And he was aware that there was little he could do about it. But right now, everything was okay, and he enjoyed having her close and well. And later, he intended to show her exactly how happy he was about that.

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Something was touching her cheek as she was gently pulled towards the light. It was a soft pull, like the sun was waking her up on a friendly summer day. She sighed a little but felt exhaustion. She was able to move her head a bit, becoming more and more aware of her own body. She needed a second to finally open her eyes.

“Theeere she is,” she saw the Master talking, his face right in front of hers. It was his hand that was on her cheek and temple. “These two too boring for you?” Suddenly, she remembered what had transpired. And skyrocketed immediately. “Watch it!” The Master drew back only just.

“What happened?” Rose exclaimed, realising she was still in Jack’s cellar. “And what’s he doing here?” Her thumb was on the Master.

“Ending your beauty sleep,” the man in question answered.

The Doctor stepped instantly to her, enveloping her in his arms a second later. “You scared me,” he whispered.

Her hands found his back. “I’m okay,” she assured him. At least, she hoped she was. “But what happened?”

He leaned back but didn’t let her go. “You blacked out when you touched the contaminated metal.”

“The harmless one?” she teased.

His mouth opened, but his vocals needed a moment. “Yes,” he granted. “And it still is. But you should probably keep it at a distance.”

“Pity, my first instinct was to touch it again.”

“Jokester,” he grinned fondly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She heard the Master clear his throat in the background. “I called him after you wouldn’t wake up,” he thereafter explained to her without really acknowledging him. “You didn’t react at all.”

Rose frowned as she tried to understand and then looked past the Doctor to the other Time Lord. “Any idea what happened to me?”

“Took a nap?” he offered from the background.

Her slight eye-roll fell to the Doctor. “Who’s the jokester now?” she asked lowly.

He grinned slightly. “My guess?” he said and finally turned around to search for the Master. “Bad Wolf didn’t like the radiation.”

The Master shrugged. “Possibly.”

“And we should find out why,” the Doctor added. “But first, I want to do some scans.” The next moment he had his screwdriver in his hand.

Rose brows shot up. “You’re gonna sonic me?”

“Just want to make sure…” he started, his screwdriver already whistling, but he stopped in mid-sentence, mouth open, eyes wide and brows wrinkled. “Oh my god…”

“What is it?” she asked alarmed.

The Master was already there, glancing at the data. “Huh,” he let out.

The Doctor’s eyes snapped up. “You’re radiating k’honic,” he let her know, his mime hadn’t changed.

“I whot now?” she exclaimed shocked.

“You’re radiat-“

“ _I WHAT now_?” she pressed more hysterically, intending to affirm that she understood the words, but not what it ultimately meant.

“It’s not dangerous for you, relax,” the Master assured her.

“And how do _you_ want to know?” Jack spat.

“Jesus,” the blond sighed annoyed, rolling his eyes.

“It shouldn’t be dangerous, no,” the Doctor said, but his mind was obviously racing. “But _something_ happened, you reacted to it and now you’re soaked with it.” With a look to his sonic he added, “Even though it seems to lessen. Do you feel any difference?”

“I feel different every day now, so…” She shrugged.

“We wait a moment, let’s see if the results return to normal.”

“There’s anything normal on me?” she only half joked.

His mouth twitched a little. “Are you concerned?” he asked quietly.

“Should I be?”

He missed a beat, talking a bit lower. “I could take a look, but we both know that there’s someone who sees it a bit clearer.”

She also needed a moment to answer even if she very well knew the situation. “Well, I’ll think about it,” she offered. His smile was understanding, his hand on her face supportive. She mirrored the smile, thankfully.

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The radiation decreased. Slowly.

Meanwhile, they had decided to take a look at the house of this stranger to find out if he was somehow responsible for the vanishing of all these people. They would go when it was dark.

Rose had to use the loo and was therefore upstairs. There was a lot of decoration in this little house, like it was done with love. But none of it was Jack. There was nothing personal about it. This was really purely work for him. But when he also lived here, this was a bit sad to be honest.

She was examining a picture on the wall as she heard steps around the corner, intending to reach the front door. “And where are _you_ going?” she called him out.

He obviously hadn’t seen her. “Out,” the Master replied. “To the TARDIS.”

“Fetching something?”

“No,” he said carefully. “I just … go there,” he continued slowly. “And stay.”

She had to supress her eye-roll. “Fair enough.” With that, he already was turning around, but she had to add something. “Thanks, by the way.” He stopped. “You really didn’t want to come, I know that. Thanks for helping me anyway.”

His smile was a thin line. “Sure.”

He totally held back, she knew that. She had wished for time and space and he seemed to absolutely respect that these last days. That was the reason she held him back a second time. “You woke me somehow. Did you look any further, for the reason this happened?”

His cautious look told her that her question was asked a little unlucky. “I only lifted your faint, promise,” he already said in defence.

“I didn’t mean it controlling,” she clarified. “I ask, because I want you to make sure I’m okay.”

He blinked. “Oh.”

“Is that okay?”

“You tell me,” he countered.

“I just did.”

“Fine,” he shrugged. “Come here.” He gestured her to come, hands already up in the air. She stepped into them and was glad he didn’t make a big deal out of it. Because she suddenly felt her heart speed up a bit as his fingertips reached her temple. The spike of fear was completely involuntary. She knew she didn’t have to fear him. It just reminded her…

If he noticed, he didn’t show. And she was glad about it. He slipped in and stimulated their connection, slow and gentle, but all business. He was shielding as much as he could and the thoughts she could pick up were nothing interesting or stuff she didn’t understand. “Well, I see that Bad Wolf did something with this radiation. But only so you radiate. The construction seems fine.”

“And it’s not dangerous?”

“Not that I can tell.”

“Okay well… it’s something.”

“Hm.”

“What?”

“I … have to check the data, but … I believe your radiation lessens significantly right now.”

Rose frowned. “And how’s that?”

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He led her into the cellar without having answered, his hand clutching her elbow. “ _Hey_ , what the hell?” she protested, while stepping down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” the Doctor asked.

The Master walked right up to the table where all the devices were lying. He twirled around, catching her temples in his hands. She kind of wanted to step away on principle, but he obviously was figuring something out. His eyes closed in concentration, but it didn’t need long before he started talking. “Like I hypothesised.” His hands fell from her head. “If you’re near these things, your radiation level rises. And it falls when you’re away.”

“That’s not possible,” the Doctor frowned, stepping closer.

The Master raised a brow at him.

“Well…” he stumbled. “Not _likely_.”

“However, she shouldn’t be anywhere near any radiation until we know more about it,” the Master concluded.

“What, and what about tonight?” she asked, clearly not liking where this was headed.

“He’s right, we can’t risk it,” the Doctor added.

“But I wanna help,” she countered.

“We’re only gathering information,” he answered. “We’ll see after that.”

She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Well, fine. I’m gonna wait on the outside. If something looks fishy, I call you guys.”

“Agreed,” the Doctor smiled a little at her.

“What about him?” Jack asked, pointing at the Master. “Maybe someone should have an eye on her nonetheless.”

“I don’t need a babysitter!” she protested.

“The radiation out there should be non-existent,” the Doctor dispelled his concerns.

“Yeah, and I feel _fine_ ,” she added.

“He’s coming with us then?” Jack asked.

“Why would you think that?” the Master chimed in.

“He _could_ help,” the Doctor pondered.

“I don’t care about any of this,” the blond one clarified.

“If something goes wrong, it’s maybe better you’re not all stuck or somethin’,” Rose considered. “Maybe he really should stay with me.”

“Hey, did you even _hear_ what I just said?” he nagged.

She turned to him with a sigh. “Please?” She wanted him there, something was telling her he was needed.

“Not gonna happen, honey,” was his clear answer.

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So… _how_ did he eventually end up hiding in the bushes?

He had his hands folded, chin resting on them. “I should have gone inside,” he mumbled after a while. “This is just plain boring.”

Rose sat beside him, now peering over. “Preferring Jack’s presence to mine?” she commented drily.

“At least to his cold looks, I’m used.”

Rose needed a second to process his words. And even after, she couldn’t do anything but look at him, trying to figure out what to say to that.

She saw a small grin on the edges on this mouth, his eyes still bound forward. “I probably shouldn’t have said this,” he granted.

Boy, this sentence alone told her so much about his inner life. He knew when he had to step back, he has proven this many times. He knew when he crossed a line, knew when he should feel guilty and knew how to act accordingly. But did it ever go beyond cognitive knowledge? Did he just once feel it emotionally? Maybe there _was_ something psychopathic about him.

“It’s not like I want to punish you,” she decided to say. “I just can’t help feeling the way I do.”

He swallowed. “I get that,” he answered calmly. “I get that first shock. But honestly, it’s nothing you didn’t know before.”

Her sigh was silent. “True,” she acknowledged. “But experiencing it changed the way I feel about our connecting.”

Now his head snapped her way. There suddenly was slight panic behind his features. His look fell momentarily down, and he was working his jaw as he focused on her again. It was true, she couldn’t help feeling the way she did. This included her swelling heart when she saw vulnerability in his eyes, searching her face helplessly.

“Nothing has changed, Rose,” he pleaded, but missing half his voice. “I …” _Crap_. Words failed him. He never considered this could change everything. He always thought that she just needed time. But this ran much deeper. “I know I hurt you,” he finally said sobered, maybe for the first time realising how much. “I hurt your body. Your mind. And maybe worst of all – your trust.” His openness made her tear up. He didn’t get off on her tears. He caused them too many times. “If you know how I can gain it back – just let me know?”

She swallowed hard. “I want to feel save with you again,” she confessed whispery. “I don’t know how yet, but … I want to.”

He wanted to pull her close, _show_ her how to trust him again. But this was obviously not the way.

Before either one of them could add anything, a giant explosion rattled the earth and they both flinched with big eyes, observing parts of the building flying all around.

Well, something didn’t seem to go as planned.

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Jack and Rose have been the ones to get this party started. Admittedly, they were the ones who felt the alcohol first. After a karaoke session and embarrassing dance moves, Jack was glad to sit down for a moment and eat something. It was the Master standing up and walking towards the other two that caught his attention again.

It was so strange. Seeing them. Trying to figure them out.

The thing was, the unbreakable bond between the Doctor and Rose was as strong as ever. You could sense it from the beginning and it survived through all the ups and downs. Their feelings for each other ran deep. And he had never thought that something could come between them.

And then there was the Master. Psychopathic, lunatic Master. Except that when he talked with Rose, watched her, interacted with her … he didn’t seem that lunatic at all. It wasn’t like the bond between the Doctor and Rose, but it was a bond nonetheless. That Rose cared didn’t surprise him. She was compassionate. What threw him for a loop was that the Master seemed to care.

The Doctor let himself fall on the seat beside him, fetching a few saltsticks. Jacks eyes only briefly flickered to him. “Unbelievable that this man took over Earth not so long ago, eh?”

The Doctor huffed. “Luckily, he gets easily bored,” he said only half joking.

Now Jack glanced at him. “And what if he gets bored with how things are now?”

The Time Lord sighed. “Then I’ll deal with it.”

Jack didn’t know whether the Doctor expected that to happen sometime. Obviously, he was okay with how things went at the moment. “He cares about her, doesn’t he?” he finally asked quietly. “And not just in a selfish way.”

The Doctor too watched them dance, but he didn’t really need to consider anything. “Yeah,” he sighed. “He does.”

He eyed the Time Lord again. “That okay with you?”

There was a slight chuckle. “It actually is,” he answered. “Because it actually does him good. But … this is still new territory. We’ll see where this leads.”

Hmm. As long as everybody was okay with everything, Jack would be the last one to intervene.

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“Wait, wai-wait!” The Master hissed as he finally caught her running form. She had sprinted directly to the building faster than he had reacted.

She pulled her arm in his grip. “We have to go!” she shouted. “We have to know what happened!”

His other hand clutched her shoulder. “And we _will_. But not when you run into the wreckage and die!” She took a deep breath but nodded. “Okay,” he sighed and led the way. “Come on.”

They were closing in, but with caution. “Holy crap,” she sighed when they saw the wreckage of some part of the building. “This looks nasty.”

The Master used a scanner to collect some data. “There are life signs.”

She wanted to ask if only human or Time Lord as well when she saw some figures emerging from the dust. “There are people …” Her eyes got wide, but she didn’t recognize anyone. “They look confused …”

“Humans always do,” he murmured absently, and Rose rolled her eyes. Until she saw the unmistakable silhouette of the Doctor.

“There!” she called out and wanted to run to him but was caught on her elbow again. “ _Easy_ ,” he hissed sharply. “There’s _a lot_ of radiation flowing out of there.”

She groaned frustrated. “I’m gonna go there,” she decided determined. “Nice and slow.”

He knew he couldn’t stop her. So he just walked by her side until the Doctor and Jack saw them as well. Her heart did a leap when she saw them alive and more or less unscathed. At the last few yards, she couldn't hold back. She started running and within seconds, she was in his arms as he lifted her in the air. “Stop fuckin’ scaring me,” she muttered into his neck.

“Says the right one,” he chuckled.

After her feet landed on the ground again, she asked, “What the hell happened?”

“Not as harmless as we thought,” Jack commented from the background.

The Doctors face got darker. “He’s killing them. The People. This all escalated a bit quick, and we were only able to free some of them. We have to get back in.”

She shook her head. “How could you be so mistaken about this radiation?”

“It didn’t harm them,” he explained bitterly. “He found a way make the people radiate by vaporizing them. He needs the radiation to get off this planet.”

“So he’s still alive?” she asked.

“Yeah, and he sealed himself off,” Jack threw in.

“So we gotta get in,” she concluded.

The Doctor sighed. “This place reeks of radiation. Maybe you should sit this one out.”

She was _so_ annoyed at her crappy condition. What the hell did it even mean? “Fine, I’ll just…” she rolled her eyes, “wait and see if-”

There was a deafening bang and the first second of a blast turned into one that hurled her up in the air. She had no orientation when she crashed on the ground again, knocking her air out, and she tasted blood in her mouth. She heard _and_ felt massive wreckage thundering all around her and luckily only smaller stones hitting _her_.

Immediately and still like in slow motion, she tried to turn around and stand up, only succeeding with the first. She felt dust covering her whole body, coughing it out of her lungs, and only then opened her eyes. Screams were echoing in the distance and she only saw awhirl dust and rubble everywhere. She was still trying to understand what had happened as a new bang rattled the earth. _Shit_ , they obviously were shot at and she was lying in the plain open. Forcing herself to stand up already, she aimed towards the building.

When she felt the next explosion, she was inside, pressing herself against the wall. Heavily breathing, she tried to calm herself and get a clear head. She wasn’t harmed, so that was good. But when she peered outside, she froze in dismay. There were people screaming and probably _dying_. And that she neither saw the Doctor, nor the Master, nor Jack on their way to stop this madman, made her decision very easy.

Determined she started to run. He needed radiation? Well, she’d give him some.

She used her screwdriver to scan the environment and eventually to find this guy. The device also solved her problem with his closed doors. She came into a large round room. There were several planes with railings – on one of them he was, standing in the dark, probably on a console, leading the attack.

A glance on her screwdriver showed her that a suspiciously shiny cylinder was soaked with radiation. Probably the power core of his ship? He hadn’t noticed her yet. Only one way to find out if she was right.

Her heart throbbed against her chest when she closed in on this thing, she was walking like on eggshells. She didn’t know if this would work, she didn’t even know what exactly would happen. And if she came out of this unharmed. But she couldn’t think about that if she wanted to continue. She already felt that it affected her _some_ how. The data on her screwdriver told her that her radiation level indeed increased.

There was a deep intake of breath, slowly letting it out through her mouth again. Her look fell on the guy upstairs. “Oi!” she screamed up there and he twirled around. “You need k’hon-what radiation? Better check your scanners. I have some left over.”

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“We’re both clear on the fact that Rose will use her ‘ability’ to radiate to make him go away, right?” the Master asked when they were walking through the building. They finally succeeded to leave the wide open without being shredded to pieces.

“To safe other people? Definitely,” the Doctor answered. “But he still needs to extract it somehow.”

“Simple exctraction compulser?” The Master only heard the Doctor’s strained sigh. “Well, vaporising her should be out of the picture,” he therefore added. “She’s much more valuable like this.”

“He still doesn’t need her to survive this,” the Doctor countered stressed. “And there are at least a dozen extraction techniques that could be lethal for her.” He abruptly stopped to turn to his fellow Time Lord, looking serious. “Which brings me to my earlier question. You’ll need your screwdriver if we want to stabilize the extraction. If we’re too late and he’s already on it.”

After a moment passed, the Master lifted challengingly his brows. “What’s with the dramatic pause? I’ll save the reunion tears for later, promise, just give it to me.”

Obviously this somehow was heavier for the Doctor than for his counterpart. He still didn’t feel completely comfortable with this, but it was a false sense of safety. It was more a symbol, really. And the Doctor hadn’t decided if he was quite ready for it.

Still. This must do.

He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and the screwdriver in question was revealed. There was a small smile on the Master’s face. “I searched that,” he said calmly, hinting a blink.

“Apparently not good enough,” the Doctor said, stretching it out to him.

He grabbed the device, tilting shortly his head. “Let’s save the girl.”

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He had a gun pointed at her, but obviously checked the data. He looked almost human. “What the hell are you?” he frowned.

“Trying to figure this out for a while now,” she let on, more to herself. Her skin started to bristle, her body tingled in a way that probably wasn’t healthy. “You see how my body reacts to the radiation. You don’t need to kill any more people, so _stop_ firing on them _right now_!”

He huffed. “You’re right,” he said, and the small smile didn’t surprise her in the slightest. “I don’t.”

She somehow expected it, but it still hurt like a bitch when some ray hit her. Talking reasonably with someone who was murdering people was seldom immediately crowned with success. (And she had some experience there.)

The earlier feeling exploded in her, her legs and arms spread to her sides, her head was thrown back. Maybe she was floating. She didn’t know. And soon every coherent thought was slipping away as well.

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They entered the room, each half of the two-part-door was thrown open by each of the Time Lords. The Doctor’s hearts dropped into his gut. Rose was surrounded by lightening, and not the good one, the impressive Bad Wolf light, but something else. She was hovering above the ground ever so slightly, only her toes were touching the floor.

The Doctor flinched as the laser from the Master hit the higher decks, and his hand grabbed the blond one’s arm faster that the guy fled the field. “Are you _insane_?” the Doctor hissed lividly. “If you hit the extraction compulser, Rose could _die_.”

He shrugged angered out of his grip. “And _you_ must be insane for implying I’d risk something like that.”

“You already _have_ , and _God_ have we not time for this,” he scolded and strode over to Rose. “Other side,” he curtly instructed the Master, but he was already on his way, they pointed their screwdrivers almost simultaneously. The Doctor has slipped in his saving mode, not allowing himself to fall apart – despite this composure hanging by a thread. He was _so_ scared of losing her, he barely let himself think about it out of fear. Fear about how he’d break down. Fear about what he’d do. So he also forbade himself to think about it now.

They used their screwdrivers to stabilize the extraction, not immediately cutting the connection, but holding it at a level.

“What about _him_?” the Master called just as engines started to sound.

“Guess he’s flying home,” the Doctor commented strained, only looking at the blonde woman in front of him.

The Master didn’t like it. He didn’t like that this arsehole would just get away with it. He didn’t like losing. But there was no other choice right now, because leaving Rose was for neither of the Time Lords an option.

The ground quaked, the walls grumbled a little, and they heard a giant thing moving, probably his ship leaving the earth. But something was wrong.

“You see what I see?” the Master threw in, watching his screwdriver.

“It destabilizes,” the Doctor realised, and his hearts skipped a beat. They had to react. Fast. “Let’s polarize the phasing with the factor …”

“What? Thousand? Ten thousand? Shit, it’s breaking down too fast …”

“Hundred thousand, _right_ now, and we have to adapt the phasing…” His panicky rambling was disrupted by the numbers normalising on his screwdriver. “What …”

“Doctor,” the Master said, pointing at Rose. Her eyes were open and shined golden.

The Doctor let out a deep, shuddering breath, caught between being unbelievably relieved and trying to figure out what exactly was happening. After everything, sound and movement around them, lessened, they slowly phased down the extractor, because her radiation level sank on its own. They wanted to ease her out of it, but suddenly the compulser shut down the same time her eyes became normal, and she abruptly fell to the ground, accompanied by a breathy groan.

The Master stepped forward, but the Doctor was already on her, supporting her head, searching her face. “Rose?” he asked and for the second she didn’t react, the Master’s teeth pressed painfully together. Finally, her forehead frowned and her hand wandered to her head. “Bollocks, what the…”

The Doctor immediately hugged her form, head sinking in her neck. “Stop scaring me, that’s what _you_ said,” he breathed. “Take your own goddamn advise, would you?”

She sighed, slowly becoming more present. Her hand found his hair and she took a deep breath. “So I take it, it worked? And he’s gone?”

There was an incredulous chuckle. The Doctor moved his head so he could look into her eyes. “It worked if you want to call it that. I’d be pissed about your reckless behaviour, but …” his voice became a whisper, accompanied by another hug. “I’m _so_ glad you’re okay.”

Her arms wound around him. She felt exhausted and could imagine no better place than in his arms to recover from this. “I am,” she assured him quietly.

The Master watched the scene, only now realizing his knees were a bit week. His emotions were torn. He felt the relieve from her being okay. But it was like in a cage. He wasn’t used to cage in his emotions. Not like this. It wasn’t feeling very good.

So he wasn’t allowed to let out the positive, leaving him feel strangely beaten up about it. That he wasn’t at a very good place with her now, left him … somehow disconnected.

Which made him conclude that … she was the one who made him feel connected. To this world, to this universe. To everything, really. Was that one of the reasons he was so drawn to her? She made him feel many things, so this was just one more thing on the table. But maybe one thing that mattered.

He turned around, walking away. He needed to distant himself. This all left him feel hollow. And he would need a moment to deal with this.

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He found himself leaning against a wall from the ripped up building, looking out into the open, really looking into nowhere. His hands were in his pockets, his frown straightforward.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Jack coming closer, not acknowledging him. “Are they inside? And okay?” he heard him ask.

“They’re fine,” he answered absently. “Probably take care of the people that were still caught. They’d certainly be happy for you to join them.”

There was a small pause. “And what about you, then? This exceeds your monthly good deeds?”

He sighed. “Just _go_ , Harkness,” he commanded, still not looking at him, too much in his own thoughts. “And don’t presume to know me when I myself have trouble with that.”

He still lingered there for a moment. Then he finally left, walking into the building.

The Master didn’t know how long he was standing there, not moving at all. He had a feeling he was on the edge of something or stuck between something. Like he itched to do something to make this feeling go away and at the same time having no clue how he could manage this. _Disconnected_.

He didn’t expect to hear her voice and didn’t expect it to pull him out of this state. Even though it was perfectly reasonable. She had said his name and he turned around, a bit surprised. His brows lifted. “Done all your saving already?”

She shrugged. “More or less. Jack and the Doctor are managing the rest.”

“Real heroes then.”

She didn’t respond and simply came closer. “You can be heroic too, even if you make fun of it.” She stepped even closer and had her honest eyes on. “Thank you,” she emphasized. “For earlier helping to rescue me.”

His smile was a thin line again. “That credit goes to Bad Wolf, I think.”

She could have argued, laying out that it kicked in fairly late and have a reasonable debate. But she only said, “No,” stepping even closer into his personal space. “Right now, it goes to _you_.” Her arms snaked around him, catching him in a hug, hoping he would simply accept her words. Her arms stroked over his shoulders in the process and she pressed her body up against him full length. He was a bit slow on processing this. Process that she not only was thanking him, but also trying to break the ice that had become thicker these last days. Offering something.

And it loosened the knot in his gut. He had his arms wound around her, his head sunk, and his nose pressed against her skin, breathing her in, feeling her pulse, her breath, her everything. He could have lost her, had been on the brink of losing her, literally and emotionally. And as much he was hovering moments ago, just as much he was crashing down right now. He tried to supress his little shudders. His fingers rumpled her shirt as he almost fisted them in an attempt to press her even closer. And luckily, she had no intention to move. Didn’t flee. Didn’t repel.

They were clinging to each other a long while, before they heard steps. He felt her take a breath and slowly pushing a bit away and he hesitantly let her. His slight annoyance that they were interrupted, and she would want to hide their intimate moment was soon dampened. Because yeah, she leaned away, but her smile at him was so warm and reassuring and it was signalling him that she wouldn’t hide anything. They untangled when the Doctor and Jack were reaching them.

“So what’cha sayin’, okay for one day’s work?” she asked them.

“The bad guy s’gone but I guess the people are safe,” the Doctor answered.

“We did good,” she tried to reassure him. “So, what next?”

There was a small pause until Jack shrugged. “Let’s party?”

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A word and a blow. Jack had actually said it humorous, but somehow they still ended up with some drinks and loud music. Rose was in a good mood. The guy escaped, but she saved the other people. She had no control over Bad Wolf rescuing _her_ , but she felt powerful nonetheless. And instead of doubting it again, she just accepted it right now. Bad Wolf had helped her for so long now. Why should she expect anything different? And if this was part her new self, so be it.

She knew the Doctor would want to scrutinise her, but her confidence seemed to calm him down as well. They could examine her later. They _would_. But right now, they’d just enjoy.

And then there was the Master. Leading her over the dance floor and twirling her around in good nature. The rupture in their relationship would heal. Just like she had decided to accept Bad Wolf right now, she had decided that the Master could indeed _change_. Partly, at least. The man who she had met after he lost his memories – he hasn’t been this man in a long time. And she shouldn’t judge him for his past. Not like that, anyway. She should only judge him when he behaved like that with his memories intact. At least for now, she decided that this was the way to go.

He pulled her back again, flatly against him, as the music became a bit slower. She sighed giggling. “Enough twirling, I’m just noticing ‘m not sure I could stomach it.”

“You should learn to hold your liquor,” he grinned.

“Oi,” she scolded, “’m not _that_ drunk.”

“The drunk always say…” he drawled, still swaying her lightly to the rhythm of the music.

“Only because you lot _can’t_ get drunk, you don’t even know what it’s like.”

“Oh, we can,” he assured. “When we decide to. But to be honest, not a fan of it.”

“Hmm,” she purred knowingly. “Means giving up control. No wonder you don’t like it.”

He grinned, eyes slightly rolling. “That about sums it up,” he admitted.

“Sometimes, it’s nice to lose control, you know,” she smiled, but became therefore aware that they were really close and that this had sounded _really_ suggestive. Had she meant it that way? Man, she definitely had to watch her drunken self.

Of course, he wouldn’t let it slip, always the confident one. His left hand pulled her right one a bit closer, his other hand on her back spread a little. “Yeah?” he mumbled. “For example?”

Well, _she_ had started this, right? She still tried to strike a more serious note. “I recall _you_ saying that our connection means giving up control. From time to time.”

His head cocked briefly, casually looking away for a moment. “True.”

She watched him questingly. “You’re not completely comfortable with that, are you?”

He chuckled lightly. “ _That_ and simultaneously _too_ comfortable sometimes,” he unveiled.

She took him in for a few seconds when his eyes also scanned her face. “That is something I get,” she admitted. “Still,” she finally sighed. “Above all, it’s still work. And we still have a lot ahead of us until we understand Bad Wolf.”

The hope that swelled behind his eyes was making her smile. Of course, he had noticed the change in her behaviour towards him, that’s why he got flirty again. But he hadn’t been sure if that meant that they would resume their connecting. And that actually confirmed her decision. Because he hadn’t taken it for granted. “Seems like it,” he smiled delicately.

She gently blinked at him, but then wound out of his grip. “The music slowed down too much,” she called into the room. “How about some Earth music, since half of us is human?”

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The evening continued a bit that way until at least the human ones got tired. Rose was just bringing some of the dishes in the kitchen when Jack joined her, also his hands full. Rose smiled. “Just deposit them on the table, with any luck, the TARDIS will take care of ‘em.”

Jack obeyed and then grinned at her. “Well, I’m sure if _you_ ask nicely, she’ll do anything.”

Rose snickered. “It doesn’t work like that,” she explained. “Never take her for granted, or she’ll never do anything again.”

Jack shrugged. “That’s true for any relationship, isn’t it?”

She smiled. “Word.”

He walked closer until he was in front of her. “Thank you for today. I wasn’t in the best place these last weeks, I was really glad for the pleasant distraction.”

“Jack,” she emphasized and took his hands. “You know if you need anything …”

“Vice versa,” he didn’t even let her finish. “But I’m gonna go now.”

“Already?” she complained.

“Yeah. I already said bye to the Doctor. I just wanted you to know… kudos for tolerating not one but two Time Lords. Don’t know how you do it.”

She laughed a little at that. “I have no clue either,” she said but then hesitated. “I guess they both deserve and … earned it.”

Her counterpart winked. “If you say so.”

“I know that you don’t like him, Jack. And I totally get it, you don’t have to.”

“As long as you promise me that you’re happy with how things are now – I’m gonna be happy for you,” he elaborated.

She missed a beat, clearly debating. But her growing smile told him everything he needed to know. “I am,” she confirmed.

“Then that’s how it’s gonna be,” he smiled.

And it probably was. Because right now – it was all alright.

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The Master went to the lab later that night, needing to occupy himself. Analysing some of Rose’s current data.

But apparently, he wasn’t the only one with that idea. The lab was only dimly lit, but the Doctor sat in front of a screen, raising a brow when the other one entered. The Master faltered briefly but then strode closer. “Anything interesting?” he asked casually.

The Doctor’s eyes focused on the screen again. “Plenty. When you look at her body readings while … Bad Wolf takes over, so to speak, while … she has her shiny eyes – these readings are far from normal. She’s in another state when she gets like this – and it’s similar to her readings when being in this unconscious state.”

The Master leaned over to take a look at the data. “There are still profound differences.”

“Exactly,” the Doctor was eager to agree. “Which means…?”

He looked knowingly and expectantly at the blond one. And warningly. The Master sighed. “ _Yes_ , I see that the difference is much graver when she is awake,” he acknowledged. “But it’s not sure if it is really more dangerous.”

“Such a deep interference in one’s body is _never_ to be taken lightly.”

“And I _don’t_ ,” he emphasised. “And won’t. But when you always _only_ play it safe, you’ll never reach anything at all.”

He heard the Doctor’s small sigh, mime not any less serious. “I know you’re about to patch things up,” he informed him, meaning him and Rose. His next words weren’t a plea, they were a warning. “Just don’t destroy it again.”

The Master felt incapable to immediately react. He couldn’t argue about that. “Believe it or not, I never intended to,” he countered calmly. “I realise trust is a fragile thing, especially with me.” And he meant with Rose as well as with the Doctor.

The Doctor paused, forcing himself to be fair. “Sometimes intent doesn’t suffice,” he reminded him nonetheless and turned to the console again. “But I’m willing to believe you.”

It was more than the Master had expected.


	10. Cloudland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me thank you again for your comments and ongoing support! <3 You guys are definitely keeping me doing this :)
> 
> Also, I kinda like this chapter^^

Rose screamed at the top of her lungs. _Nononono,_ this wouldn’t be happening! She could reverse it, she had the _power_ to reverse it. Shapes of ruins surrounded her, showing irrevocable decay. She had the unmistakable sense that she could save it all. Even though she had no idea how. She didn’t even completely twig what happened around her.

She heard someone calling for help. And the more she listened to it, the more voices were added, calling for her. She ran through the wrecked walls, feeling sweat and filth all over her body, until the ground suddenly stopped. She grabbed a pillar, knocking on her knees – also already crumbling but thankfully still holding her. Before she would have fallen down – into space. The ruin landscape just ended here, over her head was spanning the whole of space. And when she looked down, she saw a planet. And just like that, the voices got louder, screams of despair and agony, filling her throbbing head. A whole planet, crying for _her_ help. And she had never felt so small in her life, all the earlier confidence gone.

“Aww, is the little petal faltering?” a voice talked to her from behind. A voice she knew, a voice she despised even more than she had realised. “Not that your petals start withering. I know that’s a word you don’t like to hear. _Wither_ and _die_.”

“Nisha,” she growled, frowning darkly.

“And to think that you could beat me,” she said while she crouched down beside her, not spiteful or vengeful. With slight amusement even. “Have we been a little cocky lately?”

Rose looked at her graceful facial features, ruby lips and pitch-black eyes. As if there was no soul in it. Her raven hair swayed a little as she bent her head to the side. “You have no idea what I can do,” Rose whispered bitterly, but the thing was – she herself didn’t know either. That was the problem.

Nisha sighed a chuckle, lips stretching to a smile, eyes briefly closed, head shortly shaking. “Honey, even if you could _bend_ the universe inside out and make it whole again … you’d still have a _fraction_ of the power that _I_ have,” she explained in good nature, her voice not threating at all. And that was maybe the worst of it. “Just accept it … you can’t save them all.”

The truth in her words hurt more than anything else. If she was right, what would it mean? How could she cope? What about all this work and devotion if she still couldn’t make a difference? If there was only-

A sharp pain in her back ended all her thoughts, all her hopes and all her movements. She only saw Nisha’s dark grin, this time definitely verging on vengeful.

And she awoke screaming and drenched with sweat and with no orientation whatsoever. “Rose!” she heard the Doctor’s voice, his hands reaching for her and she jerked away from them, being majorly on edge. The TARDIS dimmed the light on, and Rose was so _thankful_ that she was simply in their bed with the Doctor trying to soothe her. “It’s alright,” he whispered, finally able to wind her in his arms. “It’s alright, you’re fine. We’re on the TARDIS.”

Her breath shuddered and she clutched him tight. She didn’t want to close her eyes, convince herself that she was in fact _here_.

His hand wandered to the back of her head, gently stroking it. “A nightmare?” he quietly asked.

She still breathed heavily, only just allowing his movements and words to comfort her. At least a little. Because her heart was still pumping in her chest, the pain of her back only slowly waning. “No,” she breathed with no voice. “A vision.”

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Rose needed a good while before calming down again. They had talked about the vision, about what she saw, and they had cuddled together on the bed which was something she had desperately needed. She had needed his soothing presence beside her, his arm around her, shielding and sheltering her. She had needed his freckled face smile at her, and his ancient brown eyes assure her devotion. She had needed her ears to hear his double heartbeat when she had her head on his chest, while his hand slowly caressed down her spine. She had needed all that to find her balance again.

She had her hair bound to a bun and had baggy, comfy clothes, and probably still looked haggardly. She rearranged some things in the kitchen, more out of meditative reasons than any other.

“At first, the TARDIS was hiding my mug, now you?” she heard the Master’s voice.

She turned around, questioning. “Wha’?”

He pointed at the open cupboards. “You. Redecorating.”

“Oh, eh, I …” she looked around for a second. “Well, no, just …” She hastily set down the mug, nervously patting her trousers. “Just passing time, really.”

“Hmm,” he made, strolling closer. “Got it off your mind, then?”

She moaned a little, shoulders sagging. “The Doctor told you, hasn’t he?”

“We had a brief talk about your activities last night,” he admitted, but then frowned. “Um, while _sleeping_ , not anything else. No, really no clue ‘bout _that_.”

“Yeah, it was a vision,” she said, ignoring the rest of his mumbling.

“And you didn’t recognize the environment?”

“As you have already talked to the Doctor, you already know this.” She stemmed her hands on her hips, brows shortly lifted. When she had wondered in the beginning if they were even talking about her, she knew by now that they were talking probably more often than she imagined.

The smile on his face was small, and he needed a moment before coming closer. He strode over to her, until he stood next to her beside the cupboards, hand resting on the countertop. “Maybe I get a little more insight asking _you_ ,” he offered, voice dropping low. “This vision was different for you.”

She squirmed a bit but didn’t back off. “Well yeah…” she answered. “All the others were random, with people I didn’t know.” She lost a bit of her voice. “This time I saw _my_ future.”

“The future isn’t written yet,” he objected, there was still a little smile. “You already changed things.”

She shrugged ever so slightly. “Sometimes.”

“So seeing this vision …” he started again, “makes you want to do what?”

She flinched a little, trying to figure out what he was getting at. Because he was close, his expression intense but with a hidden smile. But she decided to actually think about it. “I … want to find out what’s happening and where it’s happening,” she started, but there was more to it. “But I don’t really expect to find a solution immediately. And in the meantime, Nisha leaves destruction on her path.”

The Master softly blinked. “And you want to do something about that,” he concluded.

She swallowed but nodded. “Yeah,” she made. “I want to stop her. Not just what she’s about to do to me. But others as well.”

His smile got clearer and he nodded too. “Expected that. Once a do-gooder, always one.” She sighed but he didn’t let her comment it. “I have a proposition for you. One that could help us to get a better grip on those visions of yours.”

She blinked, examining him. “I’m all ears.”

He wasn’t sure how she’d react. They haven’t even resumed their connection since they had that little fallout after him losing his memories. But he thought they were in a good enough place right now. “You’re only experience these visions while you’re sleeping. So in order to help you, I have to be there. When you’re sleeping. To intervene when it’s needed.”

As expected, she was non-reactive for a second. “And how’s this supposed to work?”

“Well, I think it’s entirely possible that the loose connection we feel when we’re close, is enough for me to recognize when you’re having a vision. When you’re sensing timelines. And I can chime in.”

“O-okay,” she sighed, now frowning. He noticed the nervous fisting of her hand, the flicker of her eyes to all sides before returning to him. “So, you’ll … sleep next to me?” she tried to understand how this would go.

“I won’t sleep. But I’ll be next to you,” he said. Clear and in no uncertain terms. After she didn’t say anything for a while, he tilted his head. “Are you uncomfortable with that?” he asked softly.

“No,” she immediately negated, but then faltered. “I dunno, to be honest.” She took a deep breath. “I guess it’s okay. Given that the Doctor is in on this.”

There was a slight chuckle. “It was his idea,” the Master let her know. “Well, I had it too, but I waited until he decided to suggest it.”

“Oh,” she made, once again proofing to her that they exchanged views about this whole situation quite frequently.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” he assured. “Afraid that the Doctor doesn’t know what’s happening.”

“Yeah, it would be nice to not always be the last one to know, actually,” she countered a bit flippant.

The Master snickered at that. “Just be happy we’re all on the same page.” His grinning head tilted again. “So. Tonight then?”

“Yeah,” she agreed sighing. “ _Wait_. Where?”

“What do you mean?”

“Where will we be … sleeping?”

She was a bit annoyed at his teasing look. “As far as I remember, your room has a bed.”

“Oh,” she realized a bit dumbfounded. “Yeah.” Seriously, it was the most obvious option, but she seemed to be more flustered then she would want to admit. “See you then.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her but went on his way afterwards. She scolded herself a bit. This was pure work, no reason to be flustered at all. But the things was … with the Master it was never _only_ work, now was it?

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She had talked to the Doctor during that day. Asked him why _he_ hadn’t told her about this idea. “It only came about in discussion with the Master,” he had said. “And well, I didn’t think…” he stumbled over the words. “Are … are you okay with this, Rose? If not, you gotta tell me…”

“It’s not that,” she had assured him, taking his hands. “I mean, it’s … it’s okay and it’s a great possibility to investigate my visions. But I …” She had missed a beat, trying to suss out her own feelings. “I dunno if this is petty, but … I don’t want to feel left out. Or rather I don’t like …” She had had still trouble to find the right words, but the Doctor had stepped in. “You don’t like when decisions are made over your head,” he had said softly. “Believe me, I _know_. But Rose, that’s not what’s happening.” His hand stroked over her hair and cheek and he had closed in, surrounding her with a calming warmth. “It’s always _your_ decision. And I’m always gonna be okay with whatever you decide.”

She had smiled at him then. And expressed the warmth in her belly in a passionate kiss to show him how thankful she was for his support. To show him how much she loved him.

So when it became evening and she would meet up with the Master, she was totally okay with that. She didn’t know how she would feel, but either way – it would be okay.

She had just changed in her jim-jams and brushed her teeth when he was knocking at her door. She walked there and opened it, revealing him. “Look at that,” she greeted him, one hand at her hip. “Just about perfect timing. But then again, you _are_ a Lord of Time, aren’t you?”

He grinned a little. “Last time I checked.”

“C’mon in then,” she said, walking into the room and heard him follow and close the door. “Am actually tired,” she said while bouncing on the bed. “Did an extra session at the gym today.”

“Smells like it,” he commented while walking closer.

“Oi,” she grouched with big eyes. “I _showered_.”

He snickered. “Didn’t mean that,” he explained while getting rid of his shoes and climbing on the other side of the bed. “Some pheromones get released with physical activity.”

“Oh,” she made awkwardly and watched him getting comfortable by leaning his back against the head of the bed, legs stretched out and crossed. She was still sitting as well, knees bent and arms around them. “You know, I can’t imagine what it’s like…” she started. “Perceiving everything the way you do. Like the smelling. Isn’t it utterly gross?”

His snicker was a bit low this time. He peered over to her. “Depends on what you’re smelling.”

She felt her palms getting a bit sweaty. “Right,” she said. “Probably. Still. Isn’t it sometimes too much information?”

“Is there really something as too much information?” he asked rather honestly.

That made her smile. “Guess not for you lot.” Even if their thirst for knowledge and their actual knowledge made them sometimes very arrogant, it is on the other hand part of them being attractive. And she immediately decided that thinking about him being attractive while planning on sleeping beside him was a bad chain of thought. So she took a breath. “So, how … how are you gonna know if I have a vision?”

“I’ll probably feel something as incisive as a vision when you have one. But to be honest, we’ll have to see. This won’t certainly be done in one night.”

“No one-night-stand then?” she bantered before she could rethink it. She apparently was still a bit nervous. But on the other hand, addressing the elephant in the room was the most honest thing to do and that had always been … _them_.

His smile was crooked. “Not if it goes my way.”

She simply mirrored his smile. “What about triggering a vision?” she wanted to know. “Is that an option? It would be much faster.”

He eyed her for a moment. “It’s an option,” he formulated carefully. “But this way is … safer.”

“Why, what could happen?” she frowned.

“Bad Wolf is very complex. Your construction is. I’d …” he still was very cautiously choosing his words, “There is a reason why you only experience these while sleeping. A bit like you have more intuitive powers when you’re in that unconscious state. I’m not sure if it would be all that healthy for you to have visions while being awake.”

“Oh.” She had to let that information sink in.

“Also,” he added, “I’d have to examine your construction a few more times in that particular area before I’d do this with a good conscience. But then… I’d maybe do this while you’re sleeping.”

“So…” she considered, “we should do a few more connection sessions in the near future, yeah?”

She didn’t expect him to pause. There was a searching look in his face, one that was almost unsure. “If you’re okay with this.”

She smiled a bit. “I said okay to tonight, didn’t I? And you possibly go into my mind, so… yeah. I’m okay.”

There was timid relieve. “Good.”

She couldn’t help but searching for his hand, surprising him. “Listen, I … I’m not gonna lie, I was hurt. But I _trust_ you. I know you wouldn’t deliberately hurt me.”

His look fell down for a moment, but he clutched her hand a little tighter. “You questioned everything,” he revealed, still hesitating to state _his_ feelings concerning all this. She had told him she didn’t know whether to believe anything she had felt during their connections, but he only later realized the magnitude of that statement. “So you didn’t _knew_ that you could trust me the whole time.” She sighed, looking at their joined hands. But before she could say anything, he added. “Do you actually believe me when I say I’m sorry?”

Her smile was shy but honest. “I think I do.”

“Good. Because I am. And the thought of you distancing yourself from me felt like someone pulled the rug out from under my feet,” he said very openly and vulnerable, surprising _her_ this time round. He decided to let her know that bit. Even though he knew she wouldn’t know what to answer to this and even though he hated that he even felt that way in the first place. But he did and he couldn’t just wish it away. “I know I hurt you,” he decided to not let her fill in the silence. “But I wouldn’t do that if I was in my right mind. Not anymore.”

“I know,” she assured him suddenly, and she turned even more towards him. “I judged you by your past. I know that’s not who you are anymore.”

His eyes skipped over her face, his next words were almost whisper. “At least not if it’s concerning _you_.”

She swallowed. Even this had shady implications on its own, his openness always touched her and made her feel fuzzy inside. Which was something he probably knew. He always knew how to use words. But that was just part of who he was. That wasn’t the actual problem, now was it? “I w-asn’t only hurt,” she admitted hesitantly, making his face questioning. “I don’t always trust myself with you.”

He tilted his head, curiosity sparkling in his eyes. “How’s that?”

“We’re close,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Very close. And I’m afraid that I’m not able to judge you at all. So, when you did those things … I questioned everything.”

He took a small breath. His thumb was slowly sliding across her hand. “I can get that. But isn’t that in every close relationship the case?” He glanced at her pointedly.

Her look fell down. “Probably,” she murmured.

After a pause, he squeezed her hand a little, only to pull his back to him. “You should try to sleep. Get at least comfy.”

She sighed. “Yeah, absolutely.” She turned around when she lay down. She sank into the cushions and pulled up her blanket, the lights toned down. She faced away from him, but soon closed her eyes. That being said, sleep wouldn’t overcome her. She really shouldn’t do clarifying conversations when she wanted to sleep directly after. Things like this always would stir up feelings, even thought everything was okay between them right now.

Knowing that didn’t help. She always wondered how much of his vulnerable look was real. Part of it certainly was. But he also knew that would make her soft, no matter what. He had to. He could look so _damn_ sensitive. And it the next moment, it could all be gone again. No wonder she sometimes questioned how much of it was real. She still meant what she had said. She wanted to continue with their sessions.

And still, she was a little nervous about them connecting again, she couldn’t help it. Maybe they should have done a little session today? Well, too late for that now. And it wasn’t like it was that big of a deal. And she honestly trusted him to do everything right concerning that. He only had to sense her having a vision, that’s all. She still pondered about how he could feel it without touching. Even if they felt each other now and again, it wasn’t nearly as intense and clear as when they were already connected. Or did he feel it differently? Hm, probably. But touch was very essential for his telepathy, so could this really work? Or were they heading towards countless nights like this one, and _boy_ would she never sleep if her head continued these chains of thoughts.

“You’re a touch telepath, right?” She had suddenly turned around to him.

His head turned in her direction, from what she saw, he had a book in his hand. But it was very dark, and she couldn’t see his expression. “You already know that,” he said pleadingly.

“Wouldn’t it make it … more _probable_ for you to sense a vision if we … _touched?_ ” In hindsight, she didn’t even know if this was a good idea. But it made perfectly sense, didn’t it?

He paused as well, and she wished she could see his face right now. He seemed taken aback, but finally clapped his book shut. “How would you like me to touch you then?”

Was it humour in his voice? Taunt? Without his face, she had really trouble recognizing this. “N-… you don’t have to,” she said meekly. “I meant it purely logical, I didn’t…”

“No, you’re right,” he disagreed. “I can sense you a lot more when we’re touching.”

He sounded awfully neutral. “Just lay down to me,” she answered, her voice nowhere near steady. “Whatever’s comfortable. I gotta have to sleep, that’s all.”

And with that, she turned around again, trying to cuddle into her pillow. She heard him move and soon felt the mattress sink. He closed in, she felt his body weight behind her back, soon leaning in. It wasn’t until his hand found her shoulder and slowly slid down her upper arm, when she had a feeling she couldn’t see it completely neutral. His fingertips left the fabric of her shirt and stoked gently down to her elbow and from there all the way to her wrist. His arm could now lay around her, hugging her, and his fingers loosely enveloping her wrist. When she heard him trying to supress a deep sigh, nose in her neck, she assumed this wasn’t that clinical for him as well.

As soon as he had practically cuddled against her, the reality of this situation crashed down on him and he had to use all his willpower to prevent him from shivering. Her skin was soft, getting goosebumps ever so slightly where he touched her. When he leaned in, she fitted perfectly and the _smell_. Gosh, everything about her was familiar. And intimately so. They hadn’t done this since … well, since the Valiant. And the memories of those situations were purely misplaced here. And still, he couldn’t stop himself from drawing her a bit closer, nuzzling her neck a bit more, and nestle against her a bit more intensely, until she was snug in his arms.

Rose felt him shift, felt the urge behind his movements. He didn’t say anything, but it was so obvious that he must have similar thoughts as her. Her look fell on their hands. She saw the contours of them, his moved a little sometimes. His thumb would stir now and then, at times stroking over her skin and then wander to the inside of her wrist. It made her uncomfortably conscious that he could probably feel her pulse. And that fact alone made it speed up. But that wasn’t all he would know. They _just_ talked about his superior sense. He could probably feel her heartbeat, smell her being nervous and generally a bit tense. He was _so_ close. Maybe she was in over her head right now. She hadn’t been prepared for … _this_. She hadn’t prepared for the memories that would be triggered. Memories of the affinity she had felt when they had done this. Memories of the cuddling. Of the kissing …

 _Bad_ thoughts! _Bad_ Rose!

She let out a shuddering breath, feeling well too overwhelmed for finding sleep any time soon, and she decided to turn around, somehow fleeing this exact situation without breaking this off. Despite being in the dark, she could recognize confusion in his face as she did so. They were now facing each other, both lying on their side, still impossibly close. She took the hand that had held her wrist in her hand, actually intertwining them and loosely stroking it. Her other hand was used as a pillow for her head. She sighed when she watched him but was almost smiling. He observed her for a while, before he asked lowly, “Can’t sleep, hm?”

“Tell me something about you,” she murmured as she continued stroking over his fingers and he began mirroring the movements.

“What do you want to now?”

She didn’t break eye contact when she thought about it. “Something about your childhood? Something about Gallifrey?” she offered.

His brows shot up and he thrilled his lips. “Oh, boy.”

She tilted her head while still lying. “I want to know,” she mumbled.

He simply let his eyes rest on her for a while, light skipping as he did so. “Do you want to see it?”

She blinked. “How?”

“I believe I could do that. With our connection. Showing you a memory.”

Oh, _wow_. She hadn’t expected something like that. “So I can … _see_ what you saw?”

“Well, I can guide you through some of it.”

She needed a few attempts to answer this, because she needed her head to wrap around it. “I …” she breathed, “I’d like that. If that’s okay with you.”

He grinned. “Wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” He gently untied their fingers and she felt them kindly spread on her temple shortly after, all the while watching her eyes. She sighed as he slipped in and he felt joy that she didn’t flinch in the slightest. When he activated their connection, her lids fluttered close. He didn’t even hide his breathless moan and he slid even closer, forehead and nose leaning against hers, and she found her hand gripping his side, almost pulling him even nearer. The emotions rushing through her head made her realize he did a poor job of hiding his. Or maybe he didn’t want to. There was a need to roll her on her back, moving above her. There was a need to snog her… She never felt anything as specific since he came back. Obviously, his memories also had been triggered.

She felt herself melt into the connection as she suddenly snapped out of it, lids flew open.

She wasn’t in the TARDIS anymore. She wasn’t in bed, she wasn’t even lying down. She was in some kind of forest, she heard distant twittering and also gurgle. She looked around, it was night in the forest, but the moons lit it up. Foreign plants coiled through it and something like fireflies were droning through the air. (Well, they flew and they glowed, so…)

Rose started moving. That’s when she felt grass under her feet which feathered when she walked. The gurgle got louder, clearer. Until she came to a rock formation in front of a small waterfall. It emptied into a pond, a few feet under said rock. The water was lit by the moonlight and she seldom saw something this beautiful.

“Not that bad, eh?”

She twirled around when she heard his voice. The Master stood a bit behind her, gauging her reaction. “It’s _beautiful_ ,” she voiced her thoughts. “I thought Gallifrey was more of a red planet.”

“It was,” he affirmed and walked up to her to the brink of the rock. “Which made places like this all the more valuable.”

“This is your memory?” she wanted to clarify.

“Of this place, yeah,” he said while he let his eyes skim the environment. “I came here very often as a child. And later too, now and then.”

“Took a swim?” she grinned at him.

He shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“Too bad I don’t have swim wear,” she joked a little, looking at her pyjama.

“You have now.” She only saw his devilish smirk before he gave her a jog and she slid off the cliff. She heard her own surprised scream until she crashed into the water, immediately trying to get up again.

She broke thought the surface, taking a deep breath, trying to orientate. The water wasn’t cold or anything. It was pleasant. (And she noticed that she indeed had a bikini now.) She looked up, searching for him, but a tapping on her shoulder let her whirl around. He just had the goofiest grin plastered on his face. “You’re a jerk,” she let him know, one brow up.

There was a deep chuckle on his part. “Can’t help it if it makes this much fun.”

“Oh yeah?” she challenged and splashed her hand on the water, completely hitting him. She decided that it _was_ fun. And didn’t stop, starting to giggle as he had no way to block the water. “Having fun now?” she teased. “ _I_ have.”

He had her wrists in a second, jerking her close, preventing her to continue. “Apparently,” he hissed grinning and wouldn’t let her wind out of his grip. “Time to knock it off.”

She snorted. “Can dish it out but can’t take it?” She tilted her head, feeling his breath on her face, seeing his wet hair and skin.

He let their arms sink into the water, letting them go and suddenly found her waist. Her breath hitched when he pulled her close, having her body flatly against his. There was still a slight grin and it came purposefully closer, his head tending to the right. Her hands came out of the water, landing on his naked shoulders. Stopping him.

Her head was slightly turned away, his head and nose leaning against it. “Don’t,” she barely even whispered.

He needed a moment but leaned back ever so slightly. Oh _God_ , the warmth, the want, and the slight roguish expression in his face made her insides tingle. “Why not?” he murmured mischievously. “It’s not real.”

Her hands slid slowly down his chest, her eyes couldn’t look at him anymore. “But it is,” she stated ruefully. And it was. Felt real enough, too. Sure, she didn’t feel the cold from the air and she didn’t really had to endeavour to not sink into the depths of the water, but everything between them – felt very real.

And it felt good, but she still wanted to flee this situation. This place was magical, but maybe a little too much. She heard the rushing of the sea. Waves were clutching against the sand, sun shining in her face. “Still Gallifrey?” she asked while she lay there on her stomach on a blanket, propped on her arms, watching the ocean.

The Master beside her turned around, propping his head on his hand as he watched _her_. “Yep,” he affirmed.

“The water is red-ish,” she remarked.

He smiled. “Red planet,” he reminded her, simply let her take it all in. _He_ took _her_ in. She was still in a bikini, the bands of her top bound to a ribbon on her back. He stretched out his hand, he couldn’t help it. He wanted the contact.

“Was it always this empty on a beach?” she asked. “On Earth, they’re like … overcrowded.”

“Depended,” he said as his hand found her skin. It slipped under the ribbon, and then slowly caressed down her spine. “There were times you could find yourself indeed almost alone here.” His hand found her lower back and spread there.

“This is nice,” she said quietly, and he had no idea if she meant the beach or his ministrations.

Somehow she was walking towards the water now, her feet dipping into the wet sand. He followed her closely. “This planet s’beautiful,” she pondered, and he found her waist again, snuggling up from behind, nudging her neck with his nose. “Why did you run away?” he heard her ask.

“Hmm,” he made, breathing in her scent, letting his head sink to the space where her shoulder met her neck. “S’not the planet,” he murmured against her skin, hands wandering on her belly. “It’s the people.” Her hands actually found his, but not to stop him but to simply join him. She wouldn’t kiss him here obviously, but apparently was okay with some _petting_ , so to speak. He purred as she intertwined their fingers, his eyes were closed. He could pretend this was real for a moment. Her body heat, her scent, her touch – and of course the feeling of her mind – he cherished it.

“Do you were here as well?” she asked softly.

He hummed. “Sometimes. Not as close to home as the forest, but I managed.” He took their hands to gently press against her belly, pressing her against him.

“Can I see it?”

He needed a moment to catch up. “My home?”

Her head tended back a little, towards him. “Yeah.”

There was corn. Or grasses. Rose wasn’t sure. She heard his _Okay_ when they were already on their way. There was a massive building amidst large fields of … something. They were walking towards it. “This is your _home_?” she asked in wonder. She let her hand slide through the high grass, sun shined on her skin and tinting the environment in a warm, golden glimmer. He walked simply beside her.

“Was,” he corrected. “Yes, this is where I grew up.”

“Well… not the way _I_ grew up, I can tell you that,” she snorted amused. “You would be so shocked to see the flat of my mum.” She realized that he had never seen that. He had never met her younger self. Never saw her roots.

“I saw glimpses in your mind,” he responded to that. Right. They were in each others heads. What she said and thought, it didn’t really make a difference. Except that _he_ obviously held back a little. She could read his thoughts by now. Just not always (like now). “Does it bother you?” he asked, making her look at him. “That I didn’t know your 19-year-old self?”

“Phew, that’s probably for the best,” she chuckled. “Dealing with you, that was hard enough for my 22-year-old self.”

He joined in the grinning. “Still. Maybe I’d like seeing where you grew up. Sometime.”

She smiled at him and also tried to read him. Maybe she could actually show him someday. Right now he entered a massive door that had been farther away a few seconds ago. The building was like marble, everything was posh about it. She was like floating through it, taking it all in. “This is like a dream,” she heard her own voice.

“Because it’s like that for me,” he let her know.

She turned around. “If it’s too much for you…”

“I’ll let you know,” he finished assuring.

Her smile was partly apologetic. There was another reason why this felt dreamlike. Why this felt like a ghost house. “Are there no people in your memories?”

He didn’t react for a moment, observing her. “In some of them.”

She hesitated to ask for it, but he _had_ said that he would tell her if it was too much. “You were here as a child, weren’t you?” There was a small smile on his lips and she suddenly heard distant laughter, echoing through the air. She turned around, sliding to the window. There were children playing in the field, blithe and unburdened. They chased each other, played with another. “That’s you?” she asked breathily. She was in wonder, never thought she would be able to see this.

“The left one,” he acknowledged quietly.

It wasn’t like she saw him clearly. They were far away. And still this felt special. “Is one of them the Doctor?”

She realized he hadn’t answered for a while. So she turned to face him. His expression had still a small grin, but it was crooked, and his look was a bit pleading. Had this question been insensible? It was a fair question, wasn’t it? But maybe he was still a little annoyed at her. This … _thing_ they experienced right now, it had been something between them until now. Her mouth became a thin line as she watched him. Until he gently blinked and nodded to the window again. When she looked outside again, she saw two adolescents, walking side by side. They were talking. Laughing. Teasing.

This was beautiful. “Thank you,” she whispered, still observing them. “I love seeing you two getting along.”

“That was a long time ago,” he said, voice suddenly right behind her ear, a certain sharpness in it. “I know you fantasize about us being friends again. But you can’t ignore the centuries of baggage.”

Her look fell down, thoughtfully. “I know,” she said feebly.

“So stop,” he demanded.

Her mouth twitched. “Maybe you’re not friends,” she started, “but you aren’t enemies either. Not anymore.”

“You’re awfully keen on putting labels on relationships,” he said, still hovering behind her. “That’s why you’re having such a hard time with _us_. Because you can’t _label_ it properly.”

She frowned, glancing to the side. Maybe he was right. “Sorry ‘bout that,” she murmured. They had already talked about it. Partly. About how she didn’t know how to express their intimacy. And he was right, she didn’t know how to name it as well. She noticed the distance becoming blurry, her senses seemed to vanish. “What’s happening?”

“You’re falling asleep,” he simply stated. “I took a look at your vision centre.”

She turned around this time, eyes questioning. “You did?”

“Superior being here, I can do more than one thing at once.” He tilted his head. “You okay when I try to trigger a vision?”

When it felt dreamlike before, she now felt as if she was completely out of it. But she managed to smile warmly at him, reaching for his hand. “I trust you,” she empathized. “When you can do it, do it.”

Her trust in him was a dangerous drug, he came to realize. He was instantly pulled in, when she said something like that, sometimes he even challenged it. It made him feel powerful. Power not in the practical sense, but in the emotional.

The next time she blinked, she was standing in the middle of a market, air smelling like gases and petrol, biting in her nose and a giant lizard-like creature chasing the terrified people down the passage.

_What the hell?_

Screams and shouts dashed against her ears, and the lizard gaped with a shrieking noise that didn’t sound friendly at all.

Rose was standing at the end of the road and actually closed her eyes, concentrating on the origin of this creature. There must be a reason why she was seeing this.

She ignored all the noise around her until it became an echo far away. _Why was this animal here?_ The more she searched for it, the louder a voice came clear.

A voice she more and more easily came to recognize. Nisha’s fricking voice.

When Rose opened her lids, she was standing in a room with another man. He was alien, but humanoid. He seemed conflicted, she very much the opposite.

“We have no other choice,” she purred in his ear. “They will defeat you, they will _destroy_ you. You _have_ to send the Pirathon. In _their_ city.”

“But the innocents …” the man added for consideration.

“Are _no_ innocents if they support the dean,” she immediately disagreed and came closer to him, whispering in his ear. “They _have_ to go.”

“Pirathon…” Rose let the name taste on her tongue, trying to remember it.

That’s when Nisha’s head turned, directing itself exactly to Rose, her brow furrowed. “ _You_?” the woman suddenly spat, and Rose had to turn around for a second to affirm that _she_ was meant. And there really was no one else. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Rose blinked, utterly confused. It wasn’t like she was _there_ , so how could Nisha communicate with her?

She had no time to dwell on that. The second Nisha strode towards her, Rose felt slapped, like something hit her whole body, and she gasped for air which didn’t come. Panic lashed out and the next time she jerked up, it was in her actual bed again.

She breathed for air, for anything and suddenly felt hands on her cheeks.

“ _Breathe_ ,” the Master said soothingly. “Everything is okay, you’re safe in your room.”

She panted, only now registering that she wasn’t suffocating. One hand was on her heart, the other on his arm which still held her head. She was searching for his eyes, still gasping in his face. “Am I awake?”

His grip on her got a little harder, one hand slid to her neck as his forehead and nose leaned against hers. Her eyes fell shut and so did his. He nestled against her, stroking her hair. “You are,” he reassured her, breathing the words against her mouth which he wanted to kiss so badly this moment. He wanted to show her that she was safe. “You’re with me.”

He didn’t know if he said that last one to reassure her of that fact – or himself.

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“So this Pirathon exists?” Rose asked, looking from one Time Lord to the other. She was sitting on the couch in the library, a blanket wrapped around her. The guys were standing, occasionally pointing at a screen.

“Yup,” the Doctor made. “But I doubt that it’s at home there where you saw it.”

“Me neither,” the Master agreed. “Their home world looks entirely different and there are no evolved people on it.”

“So they’ve stolen it from said planet to bring it on their own?” Rose tried to understand.

“Well, somehow it got on this planet, yeah,” the Doctor affirmed. “I looked it up, right now there are no Pirathons, but … well … that just means we’re in the wrong time.”

“I could describe more of what I remember…” Rose considered. “The building, the clothes, I dunno…”

“Yeah, we should be able to pinpoint it,” the Doctor answered. He seemed optimistic enough.

“What about the other thing?” the Master asked.

She frowned. “What other thing?”

“The fact that she reacted to you.”

Oh. That thing.

“Are you sure she sensed it somehow or that it was even real?” the Doctor asked.

“No, I’m not,” the Master answered. “And if she sensed it – if she’s conscious about it or not.”

There was a short silence, broken by the Doctor. “It doesn’t change what we’re about to do. That we’re gonna find out what she did and stop her from destabilize the government there.” His gaze fell on her questioningly. “Or will it?”

She thought about it for a second, but then looked up determined. “No. It won’t,” she said with resolute confidence, tilting her head briefly sideward. “I want to stop her. And there is our first clue.”


	11. Of Visions, Expectations and Reality (and Lizards)

After holding back for a while now, Rose’s laughter simply broke out of her. “It’s so small!”

“Oi!” the Master warned. “You know that you shouldn’t make fun about the size.”

She watched him pleadingly. “ _Not_ appropriate.” He only grinned at her. “Did you guys know ‘bout this?”

The Time Lords exchanged looks. “Not… per se, no,” the Doctor answered.

Rose had to giggle again, but then leaned down and stretched out her hand to stroke it.

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Rose was in the middle of a swim session. She was swimming her laps, submerging into the depths, and her heavy thoughts about everything got finally lighter, her head clearer. Right now, she really wanted that. She had the feeling that she had to be her best if she would have to face this whole mess. Things won’t be getting easier.

So this rare sweet feeling of unburdened bliss was something she cherished. Even if it only ever lasted for seconds.

This time, one of the reasons it ended was because someone was standing outside. She saw his blond hair through the waves of the water.

She came up to the surface, taking a breath, and brushing wet hair out of her face. After blinking a few times and gripping the edge of the pool she asked, “What’s up?”

“Bad time?” he grinned a little.

She rolled her eyes. “You already saw that I was simmin’, so what is it?”

He actually hesitated which made her curious. “Can we talk for a second?”

“You’re talking just fine,” she couldn’t help but tease.

That made his grin more obvious and for once he was the one rolling his eyes. “Funny as always, petal.”

Her smile got wider. “Got a grin outta you, didn’t I?” She nonetheless moved to the ladder and climbed out of the pool. “Hand me a towel, would ya?”

He reached it to her when she walked his way, and she wound it around her body while they sat down on a bench. She clenched the fabric and rose a brow at him. “Well?”

“Between the vision, the … memories, the panic and the planning,” he started, “I kind of forgot to ask if you’re all right.” His almost casual look opened up more, became searching. “If you have … questions. If … everything was okay.”

If everything they had experienced before the vision was okay was his unsaid question. The little memory walk. But to be honest, she didn’t want to talk about that. It was beautiful for what it has been, and she didn’t want to over-analyse it. And somehow, she thought this would be his favourite course of action as well. He wasn’t a fan of _labelling_ , as he put it. And right now, she was fine with that.

So she _didn’t_ talk about it. And hoped that was answer enough.

“I still don’t _really_ understand how it all works and there will always be questions. And every time we will do this, there will be more and different questions.” She looked reassuring. “But right now, I only want to know when we do the next session to hopefully find out more about this bitch.”

His crooked smile told her that he understood. And that he was all in.

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Said and done. They pinpointed the planet on which it would happen. But there was nothing unusual yet. So they decided to wait.

More or less.

The Master and Rose would frequently return to their sessions to see more visions. And so the TARDIS made little trips to the locations of these other visions. They weren’t as big or important as that first one seemed to be. They never met Nisha, just prevented some collateral damage.

Nisha _loved_ manipulations of data. Luckily, this was the easiest to correct. Rose had the impression she only loved it to make fun of the dumbness of the people who fall for it. And sometimes Rose could even understand her. Sometimes people just followed orders without thinking.

Still. When innocents got caught in the crossfire, it wasn’t funny anymore.

Mostly, Rose got the vision right and understood it. Mostly.

One time, she was convinced that they would see Nisha on this planet. Well, they weren’t. There were a _lot_ of Nishas lookalike. Because she was worshipped there. Something that happened a long time ago. They never found out how she managed this and therefore couldn’t prevent it. Apart from this, it would have been tricky business anyway. They would only start researching into this, because they saw this culture. If they’d change it, they wouldn’t have seen it. Paradoxes were causing headaches.

But all in all, Rose had the feeling that they were doing some good.

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Everything was quiet. The streets were peaceful, the people weren’t bothered by anything whatsoever. So maybe, they really were early enough.

“Okay, no chaos here,” Rose concluded.

“Means that Nisha isn’t here yet?” the Doctor asked.

“Oh, she’s here.” Rose was fairly certain. She had to be. She must have manipulated this dude for a longer period of time, so Rose was sure she had to be there. “This is the city where the Pira-thing comes, this dude she was talking to has to be in the other city. So let’s go there.”

They barely had stepped out, now heading into the TARDIS again.

“What if the Pirathon runs over the city?” the Master asked.

“I guess you guys have to go back then.”

The sound of the TARDIS rang out, the Doctor was at the console but didn’t look too happy.

She tried to look confident and also tried to remind him of his own words he told her before. “I’ll deal,” she promised and right now, she even believed it.

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Doing some good also meant that they were pretty busy right now. It was late when Rose was staring at her own notes. With the help of the Master she had a very clear notion of her visions, but she still wrote them down to not forget any details. Sometimes, some coherences showed themselves only at a second glance.

“Still working?”

The voice of the Doctor pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned around from her desk and actually had to rub over her eyes for a second. “Um … apparently,” she made. “Dunno how late it is.”

“Late,” the Doctor grinned. He was leaning against the door frame of their chamber. His grin was warm, his arms were crossed, and his spiky hair was all over the place.

She actually had to smile and leaned back in her seat. “Goin’ my way, gorgeous?” she teased.

“That was the plan.” He pushed off the frame and walked over. Slow-ish. He strolled to her until he was in front of her, gently taking her face in his hands, letting his fingertips stroke her skin. He leaned down to her and softly found her lips with his.

Rose’s eyes closed and she sighed heavily. He actually took her mind off her work and brought her somewhere else. And it felt glorious.

His hands were suddenly grasping hers, gently pulling her up, only separating their kiss when she was upright. When she opened her lids, his smile greeted her. “Come with me,” he told her softly and led the way.

Rose wasn’t curious for long. They headed into a room with a big window in the ceiling. And a giant, beautiful nebula stretched across the space. Furthermore, there was a picnic prepared on the ground. She actually needed a moment to verbalise her wonder. “Did _you_ make the picnic? And did we _move_? I didn’t feel the TARDIS move.”

“I’m not surprised,” he laughed. “You were so absorbed in your work, I was wondering if there was _anything_ else you notice.”

She huffed a little, grinning. “You would know how this feels.”

He nodded, there was a modest smile. He strode closer. “I know. And you’re the one who pulls me back to normality.” His hands found her face. “So I’d like to do the same to you,” he added warmly, before a grin broke free on his face. “So. Fancy something to eat while having a most romantic view?”

She chuckled, winding her arms around him. “You know me so well,” she grinned. “And Doctor … _thank_ you. I really need that.”

He answered by cradling his hand to her skull and leaning his forehead against hers.

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It was long after dinner when they were still lying on the blanket, watching the stars behind the colourful nebula. Rose had her arm across his torso, his hand was in her hair.

She was so caught up, barely noticing that she started talking. “It’s like … time has stopped,” she started slowly. “And every doubt, every … uncertainty … s’just gone.” She swallowed. “Doesn’t matter anymore.”

His grip got a bit stronger. “What do you doubt, Rose?”

Her look fell down on his chest. “If I’m strong enough,” she confessed timidly. “To deal with it all. To protect _us_ from Nisha.” She wanted to continue but needed a moment. “And if I’ll always have you to draw me back. To … to just be there.”

There was a subtle sigh in his chest. “I want that too, Rose,” he finally said. “I want to be with you.” His reluctance disappeared with his next words. “But you don’t have to fear that you’re unable to deal with whatever comes next. You’ll deal. You always do. I’ve got proof for that.”

His slight humour made her smile. “We’ve come so far, Doctor. Dealt with many impossibilities. You even more than me. Don’t you ever fear that sometime luck will run out?”

“Luck? Didn’t know you thought so little of me,” he joked.

She chuckled. “’m sorry. S’just … I feel so much pressure on me these last weeks.” She hesitated. “That’s how _you_ must feel. Must always have felt.”

His hand stroked over her strands. “The pressure is there, no doubt. But I _love_ what I’m doing. And so do you.” He suddenly propped on his elbow, leaning over her. “For every risk, there are even better opportunities. For every fail are ten more _wonders_ to discover. And that’s _beautiful_. Don’t ya think?”

His goofy grin was so contagious, she remembered why it’s all worth it. His grin lit up her eyes. “I do,” she broadly smiled. “You’re kind of amazing, you know that?”

“Right back at you, Rose Tyler.” He closed in and she grabbed his face to kiss him.

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“This is the building, I recognize it,” Rose said, walking along the hallways. This is where this dude was. And were Nisha would be.

She didn’t even hesitate. The next door, she simply pushed open and went through. It revealed him behind a desk. “Not much for security, are you?” she joked.

He jumped up, nervous and sweating, tensely rummaging around on his desk. “Oh, eh … what?”

Rose stepped in front of said desk. “We need to talk. There’s been a woman with you who isn’t what she says she is.” Man, he looked buggered. Like he hasn’t slept for days.

“Ah… well?” he asked flustered, even stepping back despite there being a desk between them. “What is she then?”

His voice was thin and insecure, but it wasn’t like he was truly listening. “She’s about lying and causing mayhem,” Rose tried to explain.

“A- and _you_ ,” he suddenly got louder, trying to sound resolute, “you just rush in here and say I should believe you?!” His hands were kneading themselves as he watched to ground, continuing more for himself. “She said you would allege this.”

“Whot?” the Doctor threw in suspiciously right before there was a loud bang, and both Time Lords were flying through the air, right outside this room. The doors fell shut and the woman in question appeared out of nowhere directly before Rose.

“Aw, that’s better,” she grinned satisfied, faking familiarity. “Us girls between ourselves.”

Rose swallowed, trying not to lose her composure.

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It was one of those nights. Rose and the Master were working on her structure and he probably would stay while she would be sleeping.

The working on her structure had become … kind of routine. Familiar. They had a pattern. The sleeping was still different. They hadn’t shared any memories again. But she was still nervous in the beginning of every one of those nights. It was hard enough for her to ignore the familiar intimacy they had in a normal setting, but the cuddling was so close to what they had been.

Still. They had more or less decided to not flog it to death. And so it had worked the last times.

But one thing after another.

They were in each other’s heads, not sharing. She got the hang of finding specific structures by now. She even could see her dream centre that could trigger visions. They were currently trying if there was a way to control it. But her influence was still limited.

“I don’t get it,” she voiced. “I _had_ shiny eyes, why then and not now? I obviously was more badass then.”

“You’re just as _badass_ now,” he argued. “The power is _there_ , Bad Wolf was just helping a little more back then.”

“Don’t worry, ‘m not gonna complain again,” she assured him with a half-grin. “No reason to get annoyed again.”

He chuckled at that, not really looking at her, apparently concentrated while holding her head. “Was I that obvious?”

“You know how hard it is to hide feelings. Plus, I can now hear your thoughts now and then.”

He shrugged slightly. “True.”

“In fact, I think I’m doing rather well. I already fought Nisha – kind of – and won. I recognize my structure, I can even sometimes manipulate it. I bet I can do something like triggering a vision faster than I think.”

Now he looked at her, brow risen. “Well, where does _this_ newfound confidence come from all of a sudden?”

There was a small grin. “I dunno. I guess a talk with the Doctor did something to me.” His confidence of his in her had always empowered her. Even though she didn’t always like that, she couldn’t help herself.

The Master only looked at her pleadingly. “And the fact that I tell you almost every time that you’re powerful did nothing?”

Rose paused. He was kind of right. She didn’t know why though. “Maybe you’re too close to me,” she murmured _very_ reluctantly. “Humans often don’t believe the ones who are closest.”

Predictably, satisfaction grew in him. His eyes became intense, despite his restraint. “And here I thought it was because I’m too _bad_ ,” he half-joked.

Because he mostly liked the way he was. He liked having no rules and restrictions and he liked that he had almost no bad conscious. Not long ago, he had no problem killing people and probably still hadn’t, depending on the situation. But Rose felt something within him that actually told him that it wasn’t okay. Being cruel. Murdering people. It wasn’t _only_ that he wanted to play by the rules right now.

It wasn’t something they had talked about yet. He obviously hadn’t said anything. But it was something she wanted to inquire.

“Maybe that too,” she chuckled lightly. She wasn’t sure how to address this. But he slipped out of her head, apparently having other ideas. Did he sense that she wanted to ask him about that?

“It’s late,” he said. “At least for your standards. Off to bed?”

She sighed but nodded. She climbed over the bed and threw her blanket over herself. She wasn’t too nervous right now, much too deep in thought. She felt him nestling behind her and then his arm was around her, hand spreading on her stomach, feeling her through the fabric of her pyjama.

She frowned, having expected him to grab her wrist or arm. “Not really skin contact, is it?”

“Oh,” he faked surprise. “You’re right.” Suddenly, his hand had slipped beneath her shirt over the sensitive skin of her belly.

Instantly, she tensed up. “Master …” she warned.

His mouth was near her ear. “No need to panic. What do you think I’m gonna do?”

Well … “Get away with almost-no-appropriate touching?” she offered.

He chuckled lowly. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

He was especially bold right now. He used his hand to press her closer to his body, his fingers stroked softly over her stomach. He obviously had his fun, but – there was something else. It was almost intentionally distracting. Maybe he had really sensed that she wanted to ask him about something. Something he didn’t want to thematise.

“Master?” she asked quietly.

His nose snuggled in her neck. “Yeah?”

“After you saved my life, when you resurrected … did something from me land inside you too?” She knew that some of his abilities facilitated the vision thing she had.

There was a long pause, even his fingers stilled. He swallowed. “Yes. Not unusual with a transfer of life forces.”

“Is that the reason why you didn’t kill anyone since you came back?”

A heavy sigh followed, and he actually wound his hand out of her shirt, rolling away. When she turned around, she saw him lying on his back, staring up. “It’s not that easy,” he started, and Rose turned around, propping her head on her hand as she lay beside him. “I don’t get off on killing, I just never … minded. As a means to an end.” He was reluctant to tell her that – understandably. “And there obviously was no need to … knock off somebody lately. But yeah, in some moments, I’ve got a naggin’ lil’ noise in my head that suspiciously sounds like _your_ smart-aleck voice.”

She grinned but looked pleadingly. “Not literally though, I hope.”

He chuckled. “Figuratively is bad enough.”

She didn’t know whether to be amused or alarmed. “Are you annoyed by that?”

He looked at her. “Doesn’t matter, does it? It’s there.”

Rose felt guilty when he put it like that. “’m sorry,” she said genuinely.

“I’m still me”, he assured her. “It’s not _bad_ , it’s just …”

He paused cautiously and she tried to read his features. “What?” she asked with a small voice.

His eyes were honest and suddenly vulnerable. “It reminds me of the things you hate about me.”

Oh. Well, he wasn’t wrong, was he? She didn’t break the eye contact. She didn’t want to hide anything. “I don’t hate _you_ ,” she offered. “I just … sometimes hate what you do. But not in a long time!” she added fast as he shifted uncomfortably.

“ _Yes_ ,” he hissed sharply. “I _know_.”

“Hey,” she said softly and placed her hand on his torso when he considered to stand up. She shifted closer and he apparently understood, at first confused but then he stayed. Her grin was peaceable as she was lying at his side. “You just said you are annoyed of me sometimes. And you show me that, too.”

He huffed. “Being annoyed at and hate something are different things.”

She inwardly sighed. Was this some way to get a confession? What the hell. “Why does this bother you that much?” Her voice dropped a bit. “You know that I still feel a lot for you.”

His reaction almost amused her. He seemed surprised even though he shouldn’t be. He knew that of course. They were close on a level they were with nobody else. But he still hadn’t expected her to say it that easily. Finally, he had a hidden grin, brows rising a little. “Yeah?”

She smiled reassuringly and simply lay down, snuggling up against him with her head on his shoulder and her hand stroking over his stomach (yes, above his shirt!). He deeply sighed and leaned his head against hers. One arm snaked around her body and she felt his fingers touching her hair. His other one found hers on his belly, sensually caressing it.

Her lids fell shut. This was nice. She suddenly felt his lips at her forehead. “Sleep tight,” he murmured against it.

She snuggled even a little closer.

She didn’t know how long she had been asleep when she felt something move underneath her. And was there knocking?

At first, she was perfectly fine with the soft cushions below her now, but it knocked again, and she heard footsteps.

Wait a minute. The Master had been here. Was he now …?

As she heard the door open, she was instantly awake.

“How can I help you, Doctor?” she heard the Master’s voice. She didn’t need to see him to know he was probably grinning.

“Is Rose awake?”

“I am now,” she called from the bed, stumbling towards the door. “Whuzup?”

One of his hands leaned on the frame, his lips were a line. “The Pirathon is now on the planet. We should go down.”

Well, he didn’t need to tell her twice.

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After they both tried to use their screwdrivers, they had knocked and teared at the door through which they had just flown. “There’s no fucking use, dammit!” the Master growled. “This is Nisha’s work, isn’t it?”

“We should’ve known that it wouldn’t be that easy.” The Doctor walked along the walls with his screwdriver, trying to figure out a way in.

“How could she just… throw us out?!”

“She obviously has experience with high tech, as she demonstrated the last time. And with her ability to shift things between dimensions within milliseconds, we weren’t able to detect these things _or_ her.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What now?” The Doctor let his arm fall and turned around, seeing the other Time Lord observing his screwdriver.

“The Pirathon is loose and on its way to the city,” the Master elaborated.

There was a pause, in which the Doctor deeply sighed. He shook his head, making a decision. “Okay, we have to intercept it. Prevent it from destroying the whole city.”

“What about Rose?” The Master watched the Doctor walking past him.

“ _You_ always claim to have confidence in her abilities.”

The Master groaned but was unable to disagree. It was still strange to just leave her like that.

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“Us girls between ourselves.”

Rose swallowed, trying not to lose her composure. “Us girls? What ‘bout him?” She pointed at the man who walked with a stoop in the corner, talking to himself.

“Nah,” she discounted that with a wave of her hand. “He doesn’t count. I mean, look at him!”

“What have you _done_ with him?” Rose asked, disgusted by the black-haired women and sympathetic of the guy.

“ _Oh_ , the usual.” She strolled along the desk, and finally jumped to sit on it. She crossed her legs, fingers clawing around the edge of the wood. “Told him his life is in danger, that he can trust no one. Well. No one but me.”

She was far too amused by all that. “And why does he believe a bitch like you?”

Her grin grew. “Well, this bitch can be very convincing.”

Rose snorted. “And now … what? Your Lizard spreads chaos? To what end? Only your amusement?”

“Oh, for crying out loud!” she suddenly groaned into the air. “What are you now, stupid human or something more? What’s with these endless pointless questions?! Here I believe I should have thrown you out with them.”

Rose sighed annoyed, briefly looking around the room, but fixating her again. Okay, well. “You knew we were coming, how could you know this?”

Her stormy expression vanished, and she was grinning again, leaning forwards. “And _that’s_ the right question, honey. Someone dipped into my essence. Or … maybe I dipped into yours.”

Rose frowned slightly. She didn’t have the impression that Nisha consciously remembered what happened. Hell, Rose didn’t even fully understand it.

“Somehow, I slipped into you the last time we met, didn’t I?” the dainty woman continued. “And somehow, with your ability to sense timelines and my ability to fluctuate … I can now sometimes sense – if not consciously – when you are seeing _me_ in those timelines.” Suddenly, she jumped off the table, stamping towards Rose who stepped hastily back, every step this woman came closer. “And I’m beginning to think that you spy on me!”

Rose crashed into the wall behind her, Nisha’s eyes were flashing right in front of her. “Self-involved much?” Rose countered. “We detected a Pirathon on this planet which does _not_ belong here.” Well, close enough.

But Nisha had a patronizing tone in her face. “You seem to have some talent, sweetheart, but lying is apparently not one of them.”

Rose huffed. “You should know.”

She only grinned at that. “I’m going to find out now how you follow me, and I will _end_ it.”

And just like that, Rose felt an invasion unlike any other. Something teared at her body in a way she almost felt numb and at the same time, she never hurt like that before. Finally, a crying scream escaped her mouth.

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The second Rose screamed, she felt gold explode behind her eyes. But in a way that was almost familiar by now. She felt her shiny eyes, but for the first time, seems to stay conscious during it. Nisha frowned, looking confused and disgusted. Rose felt an ease that melted the pain away. “How are you gonna end it if you can’t even control me?”

Nisha snorted. “Parlour tricks.”

“Are you sure?” she challenged.

Her counterpart chuckled. “It’s not _your_ power, you just learned to use it. Not bad, actually.” She came closer, hissing her words. “Show me what you got, little girl.”

And she did. Not really getting how, she dived into her opponent, analysing her essence. She wasn’t really tangible. It wasn’t like her own structure, something that was _there_. She vanished when you got closer and simultaneously could hit you when you didn’t expect it. Obviously, Rose could prevent her from invading _her_ – for a little while at least, because she felt her squirming through – but she couldn’t get into Nisha’s essence either. Not really. She hadn’t the faintest idea what this entity was except her being in a constant flux, and how she could be touched, stopped or – if necessary – destroyed.

“Got a good look at me?” her voice brought her back from her analysis. And suddenly, Rose was twirled around and thrown on the hard ground, crushing her bones. Nisha towered over her, hands on her hips. “Hm. You’re a tough nut to crack.” She shrugged and turned her back. “Doesn’t mean your lovers are. Careful with ties on this world, honey.”

Rose was on her feet in an instant and ran towards the other woman. She grabbed her shoulders just in the right moment and somehow hijacked her in a way that when Nisha vanished, Rose vanished with her together.

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It was kind of a wasteland where they were appearing. Rose recognized that it was right before the city. And that they weren’t alone. Obviously, the Doctor and the Master were trying to stop this animal. To distract it or contain it. It was five times their size.

During this little transport, Rose got a whiff of something inside Nisha’s mind. As if for a second, she was able to melt into her. During the shifting. Similar to the last time they had shifted into another. And for a moment, Rose was terrified that something from this bitch got into her again. But it wasn’t the time. There was something else she needed to do now.

Rose simply walked straight up to the guys – and this lizard thing. Only half aware that Nisha wasn’t her snappy self. “What did you _do_?” she heard her say, somehow affected by whatever happened during their jump.

The Doctor and Master looked at her with wonderous eyes, interrupting their effort to stop the raging reptile. “Ate a lightbulb, petal?” the latter asked.

Only now she felt it again. Her golden eyes must be showing.

“Rose, what are you doing?” The Doctor stepped alarmed forwards.

But Rose had a mission. Nisha _was_ a good liar. She _loved_ lying to get what she wanted, it’s just what she was. And she also lied to this creature.

She stretched out her hand and the animal shrieked, baring its teeth right before her hand. She heard the Time Lords running to her. She didn’t look around, only raising her other hand behind her to signal them to stop. And to let her prevail.

Somehow she felt this lizard. She felt its rage and fury, but also fear. This wasn’t an act of senseless violence. This was intended as a fight for survival.

And the more she realised that, the calmer it got. It stopped the shrieking, only panting, but suddenly came closer. Its giant head finally touched the ground and it continued shifting closer until its nose touched Rose's stretched-out hand.

She couldn’t help but smile. “There, there, old girl,” she whispered. “I know how it is being lied to. But you can sense it, right? That Nisha is a foul liar.”

The Doctor’s eyes were doubled sized as he analysed the scene. “You’re telepathically connected?” he asked quietly.

Rose nodded. “Nisha told her that the people in this city would come to kill her. She was just afraid. I explained to her that they are no threat.”

“How can you be such a pain in the arse?” Nisha’s voice came from behind. And as they all turned around, the shrieking came back and the Pirathon leapt at the woman with an angry force. Nisha just looked flabbergasted. Rose could see her rolling her eyes before vanishing completely.

The Pirathon seemed confused, but Rose couldn’t dwell on it, because she suddenly felt weakened and her legs gave in. The Doctor was the one catching her. “Easy,” he said.

“Wha …” Rose touched her face.

“Yeah, your eyes are normal again,” he answered her unspoken question.

“Um, guys?” The Master was pointing at the giant reptile coming closer again. But it didn’t seem hostile.

Rose walked out of the Doctor’s grip and raised her hand again. There was a curring kind of sound when she began stroking her. Rose let out an amazed laugh.

“Jeopardy friendly, indeed,” the Doctor joined the astonished laughter.

“Can we keep her?” she asked hopefully.

“How the hell should this fit through the TARDIS door?” the Master threw in.

Like on command, there was a bubbling sound and a blast of air, and the Pirathon was gone.

Well. Not completely. It was at their feet – completely shrunk to the size of a dog or cat. And it was looking up full of hope.

After holding back for a while now, Rose’s laughter simply broke out of her. “It’s so small!”

“Oi!” the Master warned. “You know that you shouldn’t make fun about the size.”

She watched him pleadingly. “ _Not_ appropriate.” He only grinned at her. “Did you guys know ‘bout this?”

The Time Lords exchanged looks. “Not… per se, no,” the Doctor answered.

Rose had to giggle again, but then leaned down and stretched out her hand to stroke it. What she eagerly welcomed. When Rose looked at the Time Lords again, her face was glowing (not literally though). “I’m gonna call her Liz.”

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Even though Nisha was still around, it felt like a victory. And Rose decided to enjoy this feeling. Of course they had to check if she had a parasite again, but she neither felt strange nor behaved oddly.

She was just out the shower when she heard it knock. “Comin’!” she called out, winding a towel around herself and went to the door. “Well, don’t you work like a clockwork,” she told the Master and went back to the bathroom. “I need a second, ‘m just changing.”

“Don’t mind me then,” he joked a little and walked into her room, lying the very clunky device on the ground that was supposed to contain any parasites, should they have nested inside Rose.

“Crap,” it sounded from the bathroom.

“Any problems I can help with?” he bantered.

“Um … can you just hand me my underwear? It’s in the lowest drawer.”

There was a surprised chuckle. “Okay, just so that we’re clear, you _want_ me to rummage your underwear?”

Predictably, there was an annoyed sigh. “ _No_ , I just want you to hand me one. Seriously, you are like a teenage boy, I’m just gonna go myself.” Having the towel around her body again, she walked to the door, but she ran almost into him since he was already there, leaning against it, knickers dangling from his finger. “If making sure your boundaries are respected is teenage boy behaviour, fine by me,” he commented.

Oh, his smile was seductive enough. No matter what he told her. And she was taken aback for a moment. “What if I would have been naked?” she asked with a tiny voice.

He chuckled. “Bonus.” And then his other hand lifted, gently touching her wet skein beside her ear. She didn’t move, holding her stare on him. He on the other observed his fingers, her hair and then skimmed over her face, bevor finding her eyes again. “Should we check on you now?”

It needed a while, but she nodded. “ _After_ I put some clothes on,” she insisted.

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“Is Liz with the Doctor?” she enquired when she left the bathroom and set down to the Master on the ground pad.

“ _Liz_ , the _lizard_?” he teased. “Congratulations on this vast outburst of creativity by the way.”

“It’s _funny_ and you can shut up now,” she shot back.

“The Doctor nurtures it heart-warmingly,” he assured her.

She just shook her head. “Great, then search me.”

“With pleasure,” he smiled and had her head in his hands. He clicked their minds immediately, but it all seemed normal. No buzzing, only a warm familiarity. He hummed and pulled her closer, touching their foreheads. “Just like I left it,” he murmured satisfied.

Even she moved a bit closer as relieve flooded her.

He took this as an invitation. One arm snaked around her body and he pulled her close, even above his crossed legs, and he allowed himself to sink his head into her neck. The cuddling in the night was why he got more and more away with extended touching during their mind sessions. She obviously was accepting this easier now.

“Do you know why I was conscious when my eyes were shining?” she asked after a while.

“You’re becoming further and further accustomed with Bad Wolf,” was his quiet answer, as if he was still bathing in the feeling of her. “Your body doesn’t need to knock itself out at every little endeavour anymore.”

There was a small huff. “Cool.”

He hugged her a little closer. “We should work a little. Find out how you could sense some things of Nisha. Your perception of my structure is almost non-existent, but you can sense feelings and thoughts by now. We should try to sharpen that. Could come in handy if you want to figure out more of Nisha’s plans.”

He was right, of course. And she wanted to. But at the same time, she simply wanted to slump in his arms. It felt warm and cosy there.

And that told her that she probably should work on her perception. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“You once saw my structure reflected in yours, when we were sharing,” he started. “Maybe we should draw on that. I’m going to … muster some thoughts or emotions, but you keep an eye on your structure and try to figure out if something changes. If you see it reflecting.”

“Any particular hints of what I should pay attention?”

He shrugged. “Not the slightest clue.”

“Where did you hide these terrific teaching skills of yours?” she teased.

He chuckled, but Rose felt him initiating the sharing process. Her breath hitched at first, the movement very sudden, but soon melted into it. It was still foreign, but oh so delicious. He creeped into every fibre of her being, deep and snug. And she reached into his very essence, warm and safe. Sometimes, she was afraid to lose herself in this – still. Because she felt so at home here. Complete. As if she had everything she ever wanted.

His low moan was accompanied by a rush of passionate need. “ _Not_ the emotion I wanted to start with,” he commented self-ironically.

She chuckled. Or at least, she thought she did. Her physical world was still dampened when they shared their life forces. But suddenly, she felt something different from him. She didn’t know what emotion she expected him to experience first, but it hadn’t been fear. It was so gripping and real, she had trouble maintaining the connection. Bit by bit she got more details. It was connected to Nisha. Not directly, but to him losing his memories. He was afraid of that happening again. For various reasons. He hated not being in control for one. And he had been deprived of important information. Information he cherished. But he also feared the rupture of his relationship with Rose he had experienced. And he was afraid of what he was able to do.

“Focus on the structure,” she heard his voice near her ear.

And she tried. But it wasn’t easy. “It’s … darker. Somehow. Shadier.”

“Well, shady me, what’s new,” he quipped.

Before she could say something, his mood changed. He was almost … well, _happy_ was the wrong word, Rose wasn’t sure if that was in his nature, but … contentment. Amusement. Satisfaction. And indeed, when she concentrated on her structure, it became brighter.

_This s’amazing._

His grip on her tightened. And suddenly she felt his first emotion again. Passion and endearment. He loved that she enjoyed this. That she was able to just let go and let herself feel it. And Rose was so gone in their whirl that she didn’t think about the repercussions. She saw his need to be close to her. The way their connection offered a way to be close to her. The way said connection tickled all the right spots in his mind. And the way their intertwined minds did _so_ much for him. Stimulating physical and mental needs, feeling complete, feeling connected.

There was a heavy groan, probably from him, and excitement and lust were bubbling within.

_Wait._

She _saw_ all that. Somehow, she saw what it all meant to _him_. In his mind, his energy flows and his structure. It was _wild_. She understood nothing, of course. She didn’t capture everything of him, but like so often – he felt massive. And complex.

There was a moan again and sultry desire that infiltrated her whole being, spiking her own pleasure. And he wasn’t the only one moaning anymore. That she was seeing him – it got him off. So much that everything was screaming that he needed physical contact. Like _right now_.

And it startled her for a second so that she tried to pull away. She didn’t think about it, just jerking back, but before she could tear out of their shared connection, she felt a sharp pain and heard a groan that definitely _wasn’t_ horny. She fell on her back, obviously falling right backwards as she had tried to escape on instinct, and he landed on her, maintaining the connection. “ _Jesus_ , a little _sensitivity_ , woman!” he growled while the bond stabilised.

“ _Shit_ , ‘m sorry, ‘m sorry,” she whispered, searching his eyes, hands finding his face. “I didn’t know that this can hurt you, I didn’t think.”

“When we’re sharing, _yes_ ,” he half chuckled. “I didn’t really tell you before, it’s alright. I have to get out slowly.”

His smile was reassuring, the hard lines from the pain slowly vanishing. And she couldn’t stop that her heart swelled when she observed him. His weight on her body suddenly wasn’t enough anymore, the tingling in her lower belly regions bid her to use her legs to press against his body between them to get him a little closer, just a bit. Her hands weren’t stroking his face anymore, they were holding it, and her breath got heavier. Why didn’t he touch her more? Why didn’t he lean in when it was so blatantly obvious that he wanted to? She only needed this briefly, she vowed to herself. Only needed a quick taste of his tongue, from which she _knew_ could do wicked things. She just needed…

He groaned, cursing, trying to get out of her grip. That confused her to the core, she obviously felt him wanting the same. He untangled their strings and slipped out of her completely. He stood up faster than she could register, ruffling his hair and probably cursing in Gallifreyan.

Still confused, she now felt her earlier feelings dampen.

But he already stamped in the direction of the door. “What you’re feeling, it isn’t you,” he grumbled on the way out. “It’s me.”

And with that, he shut the door close.

Rose only just realised what had actually happened. And she felt kind of numb for it, because of various reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, thanks for your support and your comments which makes me unbelivably happy <3


	12. (Not Quite) According to Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I used THAT trope. Had too much fun with it xD

Rose had needed a good while to compose herself. She had felt all over the place, like she was still shredded from the sharing.

But she wasn’t. It just all went down so fast, she couldn’t recover.

She was still on the ground, leaning at her bed, hand driven in her hair. It wasn’t like she couldn’t deal. Sensations like these were nothing new. But when it almost escalated like this, on the brink of breaking her own rules (no kissing!), she needed a moment to come to terms with that.

When there was a knock on her door, she sighed. “Come in,” she called out.

It was the Doctor who stood there. But he didn’t say anything as he saw her. He paused, watching her as she looked up to him. “I… came to tell you that I have a hint. On one of your visions.” His voice was quiet. He didn’t expect her to jump up.

Rose swallowed. She really didn’t feel very enthusiastic right now. “Great,” she said without a tone, her smile wasn’t really there.

That was when he walked over and simply slid down next to her, mirroring her bent knees and arms that dangled on them. He took a breath, before he looked at her. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked softly.

Rose didn’t know how to answer this. “Knowing that you’re here to ask me that question already helps a lot,” she told him sincerely and let her head sink onto his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered suddenly, feeling the heavy urge to apologize.

She felt him lean in. “I already told you … whatever you decide or do – I’ll be okay with it.”

He couldn’t know what happened exactly. But of course he had a faint idea. And he somehow always knew what to say concerning this sensitive topic. How to calm her. “You’re my anchor,” she murmured. “In this whole crazy world with its wonders and sudden turns – which I wouldn’t want to miss – you’re my one thing that is safe. That … is keeping me sane.” There was a pause, but he chuckled lightly after a moment. Rose raised her head. “What?”

His freckled face looked her way, it was warm and in good nature. “You were always the same for me. Without you – I’d constantly forget who I am.”

There was a small smile on her face. Reassuring and thankful. Her hands slid around his arm as she lay her head on his shoulder again.

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Rose headed into the control room, Liz was toddling beside her. When they walked to the jump seat, the reptile jumped on it and welcomed Rose’s patting hand with the happiest pleasure.

The Doctor put in the coordinates, the Master leaned over the console, peering to the girls. “Are you her new mummy?” he teased.

“I don’t know _what_ I am, but she seems to like me.”

“Ever connected with her again?”

“No,” she answered. “Honestly, I dunno how I did it. But apparently I was very trustworthy.”

“Ready to land?” the Doctor threw in.

The plan was very simple. They would land on this planet where there was this secret cell or agency only few people knew about. They called themselves The Freedom. It was there to do the government’s dirty work, so to speak. You know – how every good government worked. But apparently, this agency went more and more awry. They were doing some weird-arse experiments to gather information of other species to eventually attack them. Probably because they were afraid that the others would strike first. Again – this believe was Nisha’s doing.

They knew all sorts of aliens, so their presence wouldn’t be a shock.

The plan was to land there. They would provide all the evidence of this agency’s wrongdoings. Then they’d find these experiment stations and would cut their connection to each other and to any supplies they used.

Easy.

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When they landed, however, they were welcomed with an old lab, barely functioning, light only flickering.

“Um… _this_ is the government?” Rose asked. “Did we get the time wrong?”

The Doctor watched his screwdriver. “No, we shouldn’t have. But maybe the place. The government in this period changed its location quite often. Wait a second, maybe if I’ll … ha-HA. Got it. C’mon.” He was pointing at the TARDIS again.

“There are still low energy levels,” the Master said, working on a console. “Something _is_ here, but it’s hidden.”

“One thing at a time, eh?” the Doctor suggested.

“You two can go to that government. I’ll stay. It’s less boring.”

“No-uh-uh,” Rose immediately negated. “We don’t split up across the planet.”

The Master looked at her pleadingly. “You’re here within a second. And I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself.”

She sighed dissatisfied. “Fine,” she still growled unconvinced, “but remember that you have a phone. Use it if there are problems.”

“Yes, mum,” he chanted without looking up.

She rolled her eyes but found the Doctor’s hand to head back into the TARDIS.

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The second time around, they found the government. And luckily, they were open about their warnings. The leader obviously had been after this agency for a while now and welcomed the data they had provided.

“We landed in some kind of lab before,” Rose started. “One of us is still there. Why haven’t you powered it down completely if it’s abandoned?”

The leader – Komutan – sighed annoyed. “I know. It’s a technical thing that you can’t completely shut it down. This whole system is outdated. Seriously, since I took over a few month ago, I am constantly cleaning up the mess from _decades_.”

Rose nodded but was startled by a buzzing in her jeans. Surprised, she saw that the Master was calling. “What’s wrong?” she immediately asked.

“ _Nothing_ ,” was the answer, but the reception was horridly. “But maybe I need your expertise. I’d like to show you something and I need you to tell me if you sense anything with your enhanced abilities.”

She frowned. “Can this wait? Or is it something dangerous?”

“I don’t think so, but I’d really like your opinion.”

She sighed. “Wait a second. Doctor?” He looked up and strode over to her. “The Master wants to show me something, but it’s probably nothing dangerous. Should we head over?”

“Someone should stay here and help them. But why don’t you take the TARDIS?” His growing smile was encouraging, very well aware of the impact of his words.

“M-me?” Rose stuttered with her mouth agape.

“It’s a preset value,” he stilled her fears. “Number five. Trust me, you got this.”

Very slowly, her lips formed an open-mouthed smile. “Are you serious now?”

He took her face in his hands. “I have absolute trust in you, Rose.”

She gave him a quick peck and then walked to the ship, chipper _and_ nervous. “Coming to you,” she almost forgot to tell the Master, before she hung up.

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It wasn’t that difficult, really.

Still. Being the driver of the TARDIS – even if it was practically only two buttons she had to click since it was all pre-set – felt gloriously unique.

When she landed with a bump, she almost started giggling.

She ran to the door, walked into the (luckily) familiar lab and shut the door close behind her. The Master twirled around. “Did I just fly the TARDIS on my own?” she started babbling. “Hell yes! And did I do it…”

“What the _hell_ are you doing here?!” he spat.

“I … uh … _what_?” she stammered. “What do you mean, _you_ called _me_!”

“That’s the last thing I did,” he countered, grabbed her elbow to go back to the TARDIS. “We should _leave_ , right now!”

But before they reached the TARDIS, people were flocking the place and she felt a twinge in her arm before she lost her consciousness.

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She came slowly round, blinking away her blurry sight. “What the…” She registered the hard and cold ground she was lying on. Ungracefully, she tried to turn around.

“Rise and shine, little one,” she heard his familiar voice. He was sitting on a bench. Or something. They were surrounded by stoned walls, over their heads, a vault was stretching, everything was in a greenish light. There wasn’t really a bed or anything else, even if you could lie or sit on some bench-like stones. And as she looked to the side, there were bars.

She groaned heavily. “Great.”

“Yup.”

“What the fuck happened? What did you find out?” She tried to get on her feet, staggering over to him.

He sighed. “I believe the infrastructure of this lab was used by The Freedom.” He rolled his eyes. “This is a base from them.”

Her eyes went big. “And we’re their _lab rats_?” she called out bewildered.

“Well, that’s one possibility.”

She instantly reached for her belt.

“Our screwdrivers are gone,” he told her.

Of course, they would be. “How did they call me and _why_?”

“As for the how … they _are_ technically adept. They obviously faked it.”

“But I heard your voice!”

“Was is really my voice, though?” he asked.

Rose slumped. She had barely heard him due to interferences. It could have easily been someone else. She swallowed. “And the why?” she asked quietly.

“Seriously no clue.”

She nodded, not amused. “Great. Absolutely fantastic.” Her feet brought her to the bars, jiggling at the door to test the stability.

“We’re stuck here, I fear,” she heard his voice. “I already searched every fucking stone in this prison, but feel free to do the same.”

She groaned. “You bet I will do the same…” she promised, even to herself.

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After a few hours, she sat defeated beside him on this bench, wordlessly. He had one knee bent, elbow placed on it. Her legs simply dangled down. “If we’re lab rats, shouldn’t they _do_ anything to us?” she asked after a while.

He took a breath. “Probably. Or we’ll die of boredom.”

She huffed. “Only you could find boredom in imprisonment,” she commented.

She saw his grin out of the corner of her eye. “Well, it depends. Even if it’s been a while, I fondly remember the last time we were sharing a cell.”

He was greeted with a pleading look. But she was a bit surprised. She had the feeling that he had been a bit distant before. Since that evening in her room. They hadn’t talked about it and seriously, it didn’t even make a difference. They knew why they sometimes felt that way and they also knew where they stood with each other – mostly. But she wondered if this non-talking was really the best way, or simply … the easiest.

She watched her fiddling fingers. “Seemed almost like easier times for us, doesn’t it?”

He needed a moment to answer. “Nothing was ever easy with us.”

She huffed. “You’re not wrong.” Swallowing, she suddenly felt the need to address this last situation. “I, uh… I … somehow have the feeling I should apologize.”

“If you’re not responsible for us being stuck here, save your apologies.”

Now, she _did_ look up to him. Maybe she should accept that he didn’t want to talk about it, but he also seemed testy about it. “Is something wrong?” she tried to understand.

He shifted. “What do you _want_?” he spat. “Don’t apologize, I already said it to you _once_ , these feelings and sensations aren’t only about _me_ , they’re about _you_ as well!”

Why did he have to yell at her now? “Fine, ‘scuse me for giving a shit!” She stomped off and walked a few steps into the cell, trying to calm her anger.

He sighed, considering why he had lashed out this way. Somehow, he felt majorly itchy. But she really didn’t do anything wrong. So he stood up, slowly approaching her from behind. Hurting her hasn’t been his intention, especially when he didn’t even know why he was upset. “Listen, Rose … I’m sorry, okay?” he said softly, not resisting the urge to lay his hands on her shoulders, feeling the warmth of her skin there. Was she warmer than before? Or was it his imagination? “I didn’t want to fight. Wrong time, wrong place.” He grinned softly. “And maybe wrong issue.”

She took a breath and it did something to him. Not sure what.

She was saying something, but he was fixated again on the skin of her back, slowly letting his thumbs stroke over the muscles.

Only now, she tried to turn around. “Master?”

This sent a considerable shiver down his torso. And he pulled his hands back as if they were burnt. His eyes grew twice their size, at first watching his fingers and then her irritated face. Certain hormones were spiked and buzzing in his system. _Without_ his intention.

_Ho-oly crap._

He span around, taking a deep breath but didn’t feel the oxygen reaching his brain.

“What’s going on?” he heard her voice and it made his whole body hum. He bent down, his hands propping on his upper legs and a groaning sound escaped him. It was annoyed but still shuddering. _What the fuck, whyyyyy…_

He got this. He could normalise his hormones, _dammit_ , he had fucking control over them!

He felt her hand on his shoulder and it made him jump. He turned, landing with his back against the wall, and she wasn’t far from him. “Don’t fucking touch me!” he bawled at her.

And she looked so hurt, he wanted to instantly draw her close, touch her, _undress_ her…

He whimpered, feeling a rush of desire run through him as he examined her. She didn’t seem to have any problems with _her_ hormonal balance. “Don’t you feel anything?” he spat unsympathetic. How unfair would _that_ be?

She on the other hand, didn’t look amused. “What the hell is wrong with you, you act like a crazy man!”

She stemmed her hands on her hips and it was fuelling his arousal. “You look so fucking hot…” he moaned under his breath before he could think about it. And she predictably looked confused as hell. He wanted to flee this situation so badly. Trembling, he walked to the bench-like stone at the wall and crawled into the corner, leaning against said wall. He shut his eyes, trying to concentrate, but his hearts beat faster, and his hormones were a freaking mess he couldn’t control. There was something else there. Something had gotten into his blood.

He started chuckling, but it was without humour. “Is this the fucking experiment?” He couldn’t believe it.

Rose got closer again. “What is happening, Master?” she asked a lot more sensitive.

He convinced himself to open his lids and look to her. She was crouched down, her big orbs searching his face. He kind of had to explain it to her, right? “There’s something in my blood,” he said, trying to sound calm.

Her eyes widened. “What is it? And _how_?”

 _Blimey_ , she looked so luscious. Well, it wasn’t like he never thought that before, but usually he could control his fucking body reactions better.

She had said his name again. He _loved_ that. Could she repeat that sighingly? Preferably when she was beneath him, surrounding him.

“Master!”

“What?!” he shot back annoyed, feeling torn out.

She was almost laughing, but it was perplexed. “ _What_ is happening?”

Oh. Right.

“It’s an aphrodisiac,” he answered directly.

Again with the growing eyes. “Seriously?”

“At least it functions that way. Is it possible for you to come closer and simultaneously go away?” His question sounded so honest, as if he wanted that to be possible. When she only helplessly stared back at him, he looked away once more. He bent his knees, lay his crossed arms thereupon and his head dropped down. “It’s okay, I got this,” he lied, even to himself. “I’ll isolate this fucking chemical.”

There was silence for a while. “Is there anything I can do?” he eventually heard her quiet voice.

 _Stop talking_. Her voice sounded like honey, pouring down his body. “No,” he muttered. He wasn’t capable of saying anything else.

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The Doctor hung up for the third time. Something was wrong, he felt it.

“Komutan!” he span around, running to the man in question. “This lab we told you about, how fast can we get there?”

“Um…” he reflected. “Not too long.”

“Good. Because I think something happened there to my friends. So. Could your The Freedom be responsible for that?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” he answered. “But if they are, we can’t go there without backup.”

“What are we waiting for?” the Doctor ordered.

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It didn’t work. In the slightest.

His hearts were beating way too fast and he started sweating, because he didn’t do what this ruddy chemical wanted him to do.

Closing his eyes didn’t help either anymore, because he couldn’t stop visualising Rose naked and ready or him, no matter how much he wanted those images to vanish.

So he opened his lids again. She was sitting on a bench on the other wall, watching him with concern. _Oh hell_ , the things he could _do_ to her. He could make this so good. With their minds connected, she wouldn’t know what would happen to her. And she didn’t even _know_ what he had to offer.

He started trembling again, letting out a breathy pant.

“It doesn’t quite work, does it?” she asked worried.

He huffed, but it soon turned into a shaky laughter. This was so fucked up. “From all the things to expect…”

“How are you holding up?”

“What do you want to know?” he snorted. “The way my heart rate speeds up further and further, and my body feels like it’s falling to pieces or the way I see us fucking on that stupid bench clearer than I see you sitting there?”

She swallowed, obviously not able to comment it. He hadn’t expected her to.

His fingers were gripping his own sleeves so hard, he wondered that they haven’t torn the fabric apart yet. “And you know,” he added, still partly laughing, “why am I the only one being affected?! It’s hardly fair.”

Her lips were a thin line. “Well, we humans can _never_ control our hormones, maybe it’s our normal state?”

He chuckled bitterly. “You don’t feel _that_ way, I can assure you that,” he stated. “You don’t know … your fucking _voice_ alone sparks such vivid fantasies in my dumb brain and it’s tearing my fucking insides apart.”

“Master, I…” she shook her head, but they heard steps approaching. She jumped up and went to the bars, and he wanted to throw her against them, kiss her neck from behind and pull her sodding pants down to fuck her against the grid.

“Who are you?” she demanded to know. There were uniformed men building themselves up before the bars.

“Welcome to The Freedom,” one said. “You’re officially our prisoners.”

“Oh really, _officially_?” Rose mocked. “Yeah no, I didn’t sign anything.”

He chuckled a bit. “She said that we should watch you. You seem feisty.”

 _Feisty._ The Master thought about all the fights they had. They would have glorious hate sex. Or make-up sex. He was all right with both, actually. First the one, then the other.

“She?” Rose asked. “Let me bet. You mean Nisha.” He didn’t answer with words, but Rose figured as much. Nisha had fed this agency and apparently had expected them. “What do you want from us?” she further asked. “Why an aphrodisiac?”

Her counterpart chuckled. “ _Her_ idea. Said to only inject one of you. I believe she found it funny.”

Rose had to control herself to not yell at this guy. She was fuming inside. “She just enjoys seeing one of us suffer? As if we would shag in front of an audience!” She wouldn’t even do that with the Doctor.

“Either that or this one dies.” He pointed at the Master huddling in the corner. “Your decision, honey.”

“I’m _not_ your honey, arsehole,” she hissed and felt gold flashing her eyes briefly. But this wasn’t a question of mental strength. Bad Wolf couldn’t help her here, even though she seemed to channel it.

He seemed taken aback. “Okay, we better leave. Many more prisoners to visit. But good thing he can’t impregnant you, right? With you two being different species and all.”

 _This fucking pervert_. “Do your research, you scumbag. He can if he decides to.”

“Oh,” he made a bit dumbstruck, but then shrugged it off. “That decision shouldn’t be clouded by the aphrodisiac. It’s just about lust, baby.”

He winked at her, before he and his men left the room, and Rose wished she had something sharp to throw at him on the way out.

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The Doctor had watched these people clustering, ready to get going, when there was an incoming signal. The screen had interferences, but soon a uniformed man appeared on it. “Hello, Komutan,” this guy stated. “Is there a man with you who calls himself the Doctor?”

He walked through the crowd. “It’s me. Who am I talking to?”

“The Freedom wishes to let you know that we’re having your two companions. One of them was injected with Oxybetacin, let’s just say … it could lead to death.” The Doctor was chewing his teeth but let him talk. “If you and your friends leave us alone … we’ll give them back to you.”

“How can you know that we’re agreeing to your terms so that you can give them back to me?” he demanded to know. “How long until … this person dies?”

“The government will desert the following outposts.” He sent them some coordinates that appeared to their screens. “And your friend got maybe an hour.” He started to grin. “Depending on the decision they make.”

With that, the screen went black. The Doctor twirled around. “What’s Oxybetacin?”

Komutan shifted. “It’s a … it’s an aphrodisiac.”

The Doctor blinked. “A _what_?” Of course, he had understood it.

“We have the formula in our database. But… there’s no antidote.”

Determination flooded his face. “Just you watch me,” he promised. “You’ll show me your lab. But first…” He studies his screwdriver and after a while, he started to grin. “I probably can access the TARDIS in a way I can find out how many people there are and where. So here’s what’s gonna happen.” He looked at his counterpart. “I have an hour to do _that_ and to formulate an antidote. Your people will then accompany me to this base to knock these people out.”

He was watched doubtfully. “There’s too little time.”

“We’ll see about that,” he hissed and was fiddling with his screwdriver on the way down to their lab.

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 _What the fuck_ , did they talk about impregnating? The Master only picked up on half the conversation, but he instantly checked his control over the particular function to make his swimmers fertile. But no, there was no wish for that nonsense, he only wanted to shag her. _Holy crap_ , he wanted her. She was turning around and crouched down before him again. Wait, did she talk to him?

“… big-arse problem. She somehow knows when I see her in visions,” she said in thought. “More explicitly and concrete than before. That means she knows when we will show up. I guess we have to work around that in the future.”

Ah, she was talking about Nisha. And yes, she was absolutely right. _Tell her that._

“I’d like to taste you when you come.”

 _Wait, what?! Fuck,_ that was _NOT_ what he had planned on saying. How did this happen? But to be honest, it was nothing but the truth, even if she looked at him with utter shock. And he couldn’t give in to his evident physical needs, but it kind of felt good to give in at least _a little_.

“I, uh …” she stammered, opening and closing her mouth again.

Her outright kissable mouth. “We kissed so many times,” he simply said his thoughts out loud, suddenly no strength for a filter. And he thought of all the times he had her pressed against a wall or his bed. “I smelled your arousal, I smelled when you were fucking wet for me.” His blunt words made her shift uncomfortably. Oh yes, she definitely remembered these moments just as well as him, and it fuelled his voluptuous excitement, because this wasn’t just wishful thinking. This _had_ happened. He’d remember this fucking smell until he’d die. Still… he slowly shook his head, tying in with his earlier statement. “But I never once saw your face when you come.”

Her look awkwardly fell down. “Master, I …” her voice became almost non-existent, “don’t know what to say here. Or how to help you.”

“Tell me that you think about that sometimes,” he requested.

She sighed. “Not sure this would be helping to be honest.”

“So you do?” he challenged.

“Can you think about _anything_ else?” she searched for possibilities to distract him.

But he was too far gone. “I know you felt _my_ arousal as well back then, when you were grinding against me.” His tongue was simply loose. “And you could fucking feel me right now if you’d want to.”

“ _Stop_ it!” she hissed forcefully, and it ended his yakking.

He let his head bounce on the wall behind him. She was right. Talking didn’t make this better. “I’m just so…” His voice, his body, everything shivered, and it was painful. “I can’t … it fucking hurts.”

He was alone with his thoughts before she spoke up again. “Does it really kill you?” she was almost too afraid to ask.

There was no doubt in his mind. “Oh yes.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Formulating the antidote wasn’t the problem. He had seen something similar once, and it helped him to construct this. No, the hard part was connecting to the TARDIS and recalibrate her scanners from here.

What if Rose was the one injected? To resist stuff like that could be terribly painful, it doesn't bear contemplating.

And what if she wasn’t the one? He really didn’t wish the Master this kind of pain either.

But the problem was, if he didn’t find a way to make the scanners work, they would still have to go, because there was no time. They would not be able to surprise them, which could be fatal. The casualties of these men here would be numerous.

But he recognized that he only partly cared about that.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose searched every inch of that goddamn cell. Again. But without her screwdriver, she didn’t know what to do. She even screamed after the guards at one point, telling them she would do anything if they would stop.

But nothing.

He was winding more and more on his bench. Once, he lay down on his back, then she saw his back and then he sat up and buried his hands in his hair.

This was so bad. She was sure the Doctor had noticed them being gone, but would he be here fast enough? And what if he wasn’t?

She closed in on him, slowly. “I can’t find a way out,” she said apologetically, afraid of the consequences. Then she saw that he was sweating all over, his hair already damp. And he growled when she addressed him, clumsily turning again, this time on his hands and knees, stoically looking straight-forward. “Take your time,” he grunted cynically. He trembled, cursed and beads of sweat were running down his face.

She felt so helpless. She had gained more and more confidence these last weeks, but it all wouldn’t help her now. “I … know that our mind thing is also kinda intimate,” she started hesitantly and watched her panting counterpart, “but could it be of any help at all?”

“ _Fuck_ , no,” he gnarled, briefly letting his bum sink to his legs, not able to be still. “This is purely physical. I fucking need to fuck somebody, _fuck_!” His eyes screw shut, and he growled against pressed teeth. He then gasped for air, talking whispery. “Why can’t I isolate this fucker, sneaky lil’ shit…”

“Master?”

“WHAT, Rose, _what_?” he shouted, now looking at her, and it echoed through the room. “I’m hanging by a thread here, I can’t worry about _YOUR_ comfort!”

She didn’t flinch, being full of compassion. She had refused to accept this at first but seeing him this way was breaking her heart. “What if …” Was she really going to say this? “we just do it?”

“No,” he growled determined.

“But…”

“I fucking said _no_ , didn’t I?” he yelled.

“But you’re gonna die!” she screamed back, fear making her upset.

“ _When_ we’re gonna fuck,” he spat, “it won’t be because of some artificial chemical component!”

Words got stuck in her throat. Was she supposed to argue? What the hell should she even plead for anyway? “How much time do you have?”

“No fucking clue.” He sat back again, clawing into his tights. “My hearts beat way too fast, the equivalent of your adrenaline is completely over the top.” He huffed but his trembling changed suddenly into laughter. Rose couldn’t do anything but watch his sweaty, exhausted and shaking body. “It’s something else, you know,” he revealed self-ironically. “Regeneration by sexual frustration.” He started laughing again and Rose was tempted to join him. Gallows humour in its purest form.

But it changed too soon, and he crooked again, now winding his arms around himself, grunting against the bench he was leaning over. She rushed to him, she couldn’t help it. “Master…” She wasn’t quite touching him.

“Don’t, please,” he whimpered immediately. “Don’t touch me, I’m not sure I could handle it.”

And she didn’t. But she still wanted to support him. And she really didn’t know if this was the right manner, but what was the alternative? He would suffer either way. Her mind was racing about if she should insist on it. On her offer to sleep with him.

This wouldn’t be right. And it wouldn’t be good for their carefully built-up relationship. And she didn’t want it, least of all _this_ way. But maybe she should just do it. Touch him. Make his resolve crumble.

They had a connection. Obviously. Not just a mental one. But an emotional one. She probably could deal with it. Sort it out. Sure, the aftermath would be horrible. She wouldn’t lie to herself, it wouldn’t be easy.

But to help him.

To prevent his death.

She’d deal.

She heard steps before she could make that decision final. She expected to see these uniformed men again, but she watched in wonder how the Doctor with the others walked in. She realised it only a second later. “Doctor,” she breathed, and ran to the door. His screwdriver was already pointed at the lock and clicked it open. “The Master, he’s sick, it’s some kind of…”

“Aphrodisiac, I know,” he finished her sentence and lifted an injection. “I’ve got an antidote.”

Already, she heard to Master slump to the ground and teeter to the Doctor, grabbing the jab and ramming it into his arm. After, he threw it carelessly sideways to the wall. “TARDIS?” he grunted.

“Where you left it,” the Doctor answered and watched his fellow Time Lord stumble out of the room.

Rose took a deep breath. She still couldn’t quite believe what had transpired here. When she saw the Doctor’s searching look, she threw her arms around him and pressed herself into his form.

She was _so_ relieved.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Doctor had done it. They had learned the position of the enemy and could get in without many casualties. The base had been underground, using the old lab’s power. But being inside made it possible for them to tap information on this agency. They got a lot of base positions. And probably could fight them more successfully now.

When they headed into the TARDIS and the Doctor brought them into the vortex, Rose simply hugged him again and they stood there for the longest time.

“Are you alright?” he eventually asked.

She nodded. “Will the Master be?”

She felt him nod as well. “He’ll need a while to … cool down. But he should be fine.”

Rose reinforced her hug. “Thank you, Doctor,” she whispered. “You really rocked this one.”

He sighed, thinking about all these men he would have intentionally sent to their deaths. “Not half as much as you think.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose decided to look for him after a while and knocked at his door. She heard his invitation and entered his room. The Master was spread across some sort of deckchair, arms stretched to both sides, hanging over the armrest and in the air. He was looking at the ceiling. “Make yourself comfortable,” he said kind of bored. Or maybe just tired.

She sat down on the footboard of his bed which was right next to him. “Feeling better?”

He sighed. “That was some pretty damn exhausting piece of shit, I’ll tell you that.”

“It _did_ look like it.” She mustered him. “Got a shower, eh?”

“For various reasons,” he joked suggestively. “But yeah, not used to this kind of transpiration. You humans sweat every day, how annoying is that?”

She shrugged. “You get used to it.”

He peered to her for the first time, observing her for a while. “You also okay?”

“Yeah,” she assured him. And she was. “I’m not the one who got infected,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but …” He shrugged. “You know.”

“I’m fine. I’m so relieved that it ended so harmless.”

His look fell down, there was a very subtle grin on the corners of his mouth. He sat up then and turned towards her on his seat. “Thank you, Rose.”

She frowned. “For what?”

His lips turned inwards, but he still smiled. “For the offer, back then.”

Ah. The offer to sleep with him. She hated to let shine through nervousness, but she ended up observing her fingers. “Why didn’t you take it?” she asked barely audible. Not sure why she even wanted to know.

“Isn’t that obvious?” he asked calmly.

 _Of course_ , it wouldn’t have been a good thing. But giving up his life for it? “You could’ve died.”

“And that’s exactly the reason why.” She discovered his warm if little roguish smile. “Finally, your first offer to have sex with me and it’s because you feel obliged?” He shook his head and his voice dropped. “You’re not going to sleep with me because you have to.”

She huffed, not sure how to react. “I’m not going to sleep with you, period,” she teased.

He chuckled. “Well, _I_ don’t know. Would you have gone through with it?”

She didn’t break eye contact this time. “We’ll never know, now.” The thing was, she had prepared herself back then. To go through with it. But she’d too never know for sure. And how it eventually had gone – it was the best for all of them.

“I guess we won’t,” he agreed and then winked. “Still. It feels a bit like a missed opportunity to at least steal a kiss.” Her smile was short. She acknowledged the joke, even if there was truth about it, but seemed somehow in thought. He couldn’t look through. She wasn’t awkward about it but seemed like she didn’t know how to judge it all. And somehow, it made him want to reach out, hug her, feel her, taste her and steal his kiss at last. Well, the stuff in his system was apparently not completely gone yet.

Nothing of this happened. She patted her thighs and got on her feet. “Well, I’m glad you’re better. And I guess, I’ll see you in the morning then.”

He gently blinked at her and she walked towards the door.

Something in him stirred. Like he saw an opportunity go down the drain. No real opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless. He flinched hesitantly, but finally jumped up. _Screw it_.

“Rose, wait,” he called out and she turned around in front of the still closed door. He just saw her questioning face, when his hands surrounded her cheeks and his lips caught hers in an open kiss. He knocked her against the wall and the next instant he felt her warmth, her tongue against which he sensually led his one slide, tasting every inch of it. He couldn’t stop his breath from shuddering as she didn’t push him away and used the moment to place one hand on her waist to squeeze her closer, using his own hips to fixate hers a little against the wall. He tried to keep his other hand from clawing into her hair, only partly succeeding.

She tasted like honey and power and delicious pheromones. She wasn’t as enthusiastic, but he felt her carefully move her tongue and lips and it was enough to make his body sing. Feeling her respond, tasting her intimately. He mustn’t press his luck, however. He slowly eased out of it, withdrawing his tongue, catching her bottom lip playfully on the way out. He felt her breath and finally decided to look at her.

She had her damn doe eyes on that made him want to start this all over, maybe a little less PG. She looked up to him, quizzically, and in wonder, and absolutely quiet. He had to smile at her, his thumb caressing her cheekbone, not quite ready to break the contact. “Blame it on the drugs,” he hummed impishly.

He then opened the door beside them, considering to take a step back from her, to lead her out but bugger it. He enjoyed having her close too much.

She took a breath and then slipped away from him, out of the door.


	13. Hero

She had all evening flashbacks of that damn kiss. She had been so surprised about it. That he just did it. Yes, she had been majorly overwhelmed with this.

But that was not all she had been.

Because … despite everything, the current situation and all her rules, this had felt warm and safe and simply _right_.

He knew exactly how to kiss her to make her weak, he knew her inside out. He always knew what he was doing with her. To her.

Blame it on the drugs, he had said. Well, _he_ could. But she certainly couldn’t, could she? She had simply gone with it, even if it had felt like she hadn’t been completely present. But on the other hand, she remembered every detail. How his body was pressed up against hers, the held back need in his movements and noises, the gentle caress of his tongue, of his lips.

Maybe – after pondering over handling sleeping with him – a kiss didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

But the feeling that this was outright wrong and simultaneously perfectly all right, made her feel utterly torn.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Master remained at least a day in his room. This whole aphrodisiac incident really took its toll and he only then felt somewhat fit again.

He decided to go to the control room, discovering the Doctor watching something on a screen in thought. He looked up though, as he entered the room. “Good. The person I wanted to see,” the Doctor greeted him. “I might have found something. Something that is connected to Rose’s vision with Nisha in that wreckage.”

“Oh?” the Master said. “What is it?”

“The wreckage.” The blond one frowned, but the Doctor pointed at the screen. “Take a look at the data, tell me what you think. At first, I thought it was just background noise, not really there.”

The Master studied the information, trying to make sense of it. “You believe it’s fluctuating,” he finally caught up. “Like Nisha herself.”

“It’s the only explanation it can appear and disappear.”

“But it’s gigantic.” He cocked a brow. “It has almost the size of a planet. And it’s flying through space?”

“And time,” the Doctor added.

The Master sighed heavily, turned on his heels and wandered to the jump seat to throw himself on it. “It’s possible, this bitch is quite powerful. But if we go there, we have to be careful. She can sense Rose via her visions, she’ll know we come.”

“Agreed.” He still scrutinized the screen. “We have to come up with something.”

“Yes. Rose probably doesn’t want to end up with a knife in her spine.”

“I know you kissed her.”

The words were quiet, and the Doctor still hadn’t looked up. The Master actually needed a second to process the meaning of his words. And as it dawned on him, he felt strangely heavy. Like a selective paralysis was sneaking up on him. He was practically frozen and only after his counterpart peered up to him, he realised that he probably had to say something.

His sigh was silent. He hadn’t really considered this exact situation. This kiss had been something between Rose and him and he never thought it would leave his room in the first place. “I didn’t think she would say something, to be honest.” He simply voiced his thoughts.

“You really think she needed to tell me?” he challenged.

After a second, he sighed again, eyes glancing down. Did he want an explanation? “I don’t know what to say, Doctor.”

His held breath finally came out and he shook his head. “I don’t know what I’d want to hear,” he admitted and pretended to work on the console.

It was actually slight guilt that he was feeling. He didn’t think that this would come up in _any_ conversation, to be honest, because … “You don’t have to worry. You know that, right?” He tried to catch his eyes again. Because there was no question. “She would always choose you.”

“But you want her, too,” he murmured.

The Master huffed. “It would hardly be me if I would not reach out to things beyond my reach.”

“That’s not all this is,” the Doctor laughed a bit cold.

And it tickled out the Master’s defences. “What else would it be?”

The brown-haired Time Lord simply watched him for a moment. “I don’t believe you know that yourself.”

The Master paused, not really knowing how to respond to that. Maybe he really didn’t know, did he?

The Doctor stroked his hands over his face in order to clear his head. “However that be … let’s just focus on this bollocks here. Come up with _some_ thing.”

He actually wanted to work on that.

And it was fine with the Master.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When the Master entered the kitchen, he didn’t expect to find her in it. She was eating something on the table, Liz was on a chair next to her, obviously being fed at well, always begging for the next piece.

He hadn’t seen her for at least two days. But he didn’t want to make this awkward. “You know, if you accustom her to eat on the table, she’ll never eat anywhere else,” he teased.

Rose looked up. “I’m not good like that with rules.” Was there a meaningful spark in her eyes or was this his imagination?

He decided to sit down opposite to her on the table. “So, we’ll follow this wreckage pretty soon.”

She nodded while chewing.

“You think you’re ready for that?”

“Try to seed doubt in me _now_?”

“Not what I meant and you know it,” he looked pleadingly.

“The Doctor and I went through the plan again. I can do this,” she assured him.

So she mentioned the Doctor but didn’t address the elephant in the room? Should he even broach the subject? “That so? Did he also tell you that he knows about our kiss?”

She had trouble swallowing the next bit of her foot. And even then, seemed too shocked to answer him.

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, I _don’t_ ,” he promised. “As far as I am concerned, we don’t need to talk about it at all – despite the fact that you absolutely kissed me back,” he couldn’t help but slip in, “but _he_ knows and I thought you should know that he knows.”

Her bewildered expression only wandered down, obviously in thought and not able to do more.

He let his hand slump to the table, ready to get up again. “Right.” She should sort this out by herself. Being on his way out, he didn’t expect her to call him again. She looked genuine. “Thank you,” she emphasised.

He simply nodded at her.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Her heart throbbed against her ribcage as she opened the door to their chamber. There was no way she wouldn’t address this now.

Had she been cowardly to not do this sooner? But fact was, she didn’t _want_ to make a fuss about it. But maybe she also didn’t want to deal with it.

The Doctor came out of the bath when she entered the room. She stilled, trying to keep her composure. He didn’t seem to notice. “Rose, fantastic,” he greeted her. “I somehow wanted to make sure you really haven’t any more questions, because, let’s face it, there are some dodgy parts in there.”

“Just one. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He frowned, stretching his head forwards. “Tell you … what?”

She tried to pull herself together, getting highly emotional. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and on the Doctor’s face was instantly worry as he came nearer. “I’m sorry about that kiss,” she added before he could come too close. She didn’t deserve his concern.

And that stopped him in his track. “Oh,” he realised daunted. She noticed that his hands wandered into his pocket, a subconscious gesture of distance.

“Why didn’t you tell me if you knew anyway?” she tried to understand. That was in no way meant reproachfully.

He shrugged lightly. “You didn’t want me to know,” he silently answered.

They had talked about it. A while ago. About what it would mean if it happened. Rose didn’t want to believe that it could happen back then. But the Doctor always suspected. And yes, the Master had been the one initiating this, but she could twist and wriggle as much as she liked, she _had_ participated. They had properly, unmistakeably kissed.

“It’s not…” she tried to put her thoughts and emotions into words, her voice shivering. “If it would be something we do now, I would’ve told you. But it’s _not_. It was just… I dunno. He was still juiced up on this aphrodisiac and it had been a long day…”

“Rose.” His voice was soft, and it knocked her attempts straight dead. “You don’t have to.”

Her stomach and heart twisted, but it had to be nothing compared to what the Doctor must feel. She freed herself from her rigidity, walking straight to him, grabbing his face, pulling it close to hers. “I’m so sorry, I messed up so bad,” she pleaded, but his eyes avoided her, his hands on her hips didn’t seem to know whether to pull her close or push her away. “I didn’t want to hide things from you, I just didn’t want it to be important enough to bring it up.”

He was shaking his head, but his hands wandered to her back. “I get it, I told you before…”

“Yes. I know.” Her voice was shaking. “I want to make this right…”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, not really,” he sighed.

“Yes,” she disagreed. “Tell me if there’s somethi-”

“Tell me you love me.” He _did_ look at her then. And it was so piercing, she almost fell apart.

“I _do_ ,” she whimpered. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.”

He swallowed hard. “Good.”

They both started the following kiss. It was messy and urgent, and she wasn’t sure if all of their clothes survived the undressing. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she felt his proximity, his affinity, and his skin on hers. And she wanted to give him the same.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

They were naked between the sheets, he was loosely hugging her from behind, his hand stroking over the skin of her hip. She was thoroughly satisfied although deep in thought, but so he seemed to be. “I know I sound like a broken record,” she broke the silence, “but I am sorry about how I handled this.”

“Stop it,” he breathed. “We’ll deal with this like we dealt with everything else. And to be honest…” His voice even became a bit playful. “If it comes with kinda-make-up sex, I won’t even complain.”

She huffed, grinning. But a heavy burden lifted from her in a way it didn’t before. She flipped over, and after a second she straddled him, bending over him. Her hair fell down and he gently caressed it behind her ear. She felt such warmth and love for him, it was electrifying her. “I still should always come clean with you about what I do. But if that’s so, I’m sure you’re happy to hear I’m nowhere near done making up.”

Her grin seemed to be contagious. And their lips met in the middle yet again.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

For the most part, it had been okay. These last days.

Rose had decided to pause her sessions with the Master for a bit and it felt like it was soothing her emotions. Obviously, she had to deal with less confusing feelings when she wasn’t with him. And she didn’t want confusion right now.

If the Master was testy about it, he didn’t show.

She was on the way out of the kitchen when she got a call from the Doctor that she should join them in the control room. She went through the door and saw both Time Lords around the console. When the Doctor registered her, he immediately spoke up. “The wreckage showed up again. And it seems to be stable.”

“And heading to a planet,” the Master added.

Rose took a breath. “So that’s it? We’ll go?”

The Doctor softly blinked. “I’m sure this is your vision.”

“Then we’ll go,” she said determined.

He nodded encouraging and keyed in the coordinates.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The moment Rose stepped on the grey ground, seeing the ruins all around her, space above her, she felt chills running down her spine. Something terrible happened here, so dreadful even she could sense the past horrors. The warmth from the open TARDIS door in her back made the outside seem even colder.

But if sensing the echoes was making her dizzy, something else let her trip completely. A flood of fear and terror infiltrating her made her sight go black for a second and she crashed on her knees before the other two could catch her. Only afterwards she felt the Doctor kneel beside her, calling her name.

“I’m fine, I …” she swallowed. “Something terrible happened here. I feel it.”

“If the ruins aren’t any indication,” the Master added, “yeah, we feel it too.”

“It’s like … she has contained the horrors of these people to delight in what happened here,” Rose told them aghast, suddenly feeling tears behind her eyes.

“Yes, something here is definitely very wrong,” the Doctor confirmed.

“And the people down on the planet are _terrified_ ,” Rose continued, taking a breath. “As if they knew what awaits them.” When she felt the Doctor’s hand stroking over her hair, she shook her head. “You two should go. We stick to the plan.”

“Are you sure?”

“I was seldom that sure in my entire life. Go.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple, then they went away. She heard the TARDIS door close and the sound of her disappearing.

Finally, she stood up again, patting the dust from her knees, and resolutely striding forwards. She walked through the broken stones and sometimes, when she touched one, imagined hearing the screams of the people that once lived here. As she walked further she came to a wider place with a chair, half-crumbled like the rest of it, surrounded by giant dark pillars. And then she felt something else for the first time. It was the feeling when someone has done you wrong. And it wasn’t from the dead souls of the people here.

She felt something appear behind her, like it manifested out of thin air. When she turned around, she discovered Nisha, sitting on that chair like it was a throne. Her black, long hair was surrounding her head like a dark crown, slipping out of the atmosphere around her, before it sank down on her shoulders. Her hands appeared out of the armrest of her chair. “Don’t you learn anything, little flower?” she asked almost nonchalant. “I know when you’ll be coming. You seeing my timelines makes me simply see yours.”

Rose swallowed her lump. “I still need to try to stop you.”

Her counterpart groaned annoyed into the air. “Fine, but this is obviously more personal. You _invaded_ my fucking home.”

Rose glimpsed to her sides. “Looks great, what you did to the place.” She saw the woman’s grin, but this calling her home made her suddenly realise what happened here. She didn’t know why, maybe because everything here seemed to be in flux. “But we both know this isn’t your home,” she told her confidently. “This is the first world you ever destroyed.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Nisha looked pointedly at her, a brow risen. “Why can’t it be both?” she eventually asked.

“You … what? You drag this world along as a trophy?”

Her eyes got suddenly darker. “Not a trophy,” she negated. “A reminder.” She was suddenly standing and closer than before, Rose backed off startled. “But you know what, you’re right,” she unveiled. “This isn’t my home.” There was a bitter smile on her lips. “This is the planet that destroyed _my_ home.”

Rose was stumbled against a pillar, but as her words sunk in, she didn’t flinch anymore. Her theory with the trophy wasn’t that farfetched, she realised. But there were a lot more emotions on the woman's part involved. And it explained Rose's earlier feeling that someone had done her wrong. “I’m sorry,” Rose couldn’t help but add. “But what have the people of _this_ planet done to you?” she demanded to know, pointing behind her.

She was again closer, her hand stretched out, before Rose could flee, but it was only softly landing on her shoulder. She came yet closer. “You can feel these people down there, can’t you?” she said humming, almost soothing. “Tell me what you feel.”

Rose was so alert, she had to concentrate for a second to even focus on the planet again. “Fear. Terror. Mortal agony,” she told her.

“What else?” Nisha demanded without hesitating.

 _What else?_ Their fear was so loud, Rose almost couldn’t feel anything else. Almost. Yes, the horror was dominating. But there was something almost as big. Alarmed, she looked up into her almost black eyes. “Guilt,” she realised.

“Yes, guilt,” Nisha whispered. “This world up here actually killed my people. But this down there conspired. And the fact that they’re now so spineless just makes this all the more satisfying.”

Oh blimey, Rose could sense all her decisive feelings and reasonings. The fact that she was able to flux into her so easily made her unnoticeably touch for a certain device in her pocket. But this flux also made her realise something else. “But … this was ages ago. The people responsible for the attack back then are certainly almost gone.”

Her face fell to a neutral expression for only a second, then an almost caring smile filled her face. She tended the head to her side and the hand on Rose’s shoulder patted now her blond hair. It was like she wanted to say something to explain it to her, but Rose only felt a hard hit across her face and her body crashing to a hard wall.

She tried to orientate, but Nisha came out of nowhere to hurl her into the next building. Trying to ignore her bruises, Rose started to run. Her heart was galloping, and she felt filth and sweat all over her body. As she heard Nisha’s cold laugh, she thought it would be time to activate her little device in her pocket.

She was so busy running, she almost didn’t notice that the ground suddenly stopped. She grabbed a pillar, knocking on her knees – also already crumbling but thankfully still holding her. Before she would have fallen down into space. She saw the planet hovering there.

“Aww, is the little petal faltering?” Nisha’s voice came closer. She was so sure of herself, like a predator hunting its prey. “Not that your petals start withering. I know that’s a word you don’t like to hear. _Wither_ and _die_.” Rose frowned darkly at her, she couldn’t help it. She was good at finding someone’s weakness. “And to think that you could beat me,” she continued while she crouched down beside her, not spiteful or vengeful. With slight amusement even. “Have we been a little cocky lately? Thinking that sneaking into my timelines gave you some sort of power.”

Rose looked at her graceful facial features, ruby lips and pitch-black eyes. As if there was no soul in it. Her raven hair swayed a little as she bent her head to the side. “You have no idea what I can do,” Rose whispered bitterly, already feeling timelines shifting.

Nisha sighed a chuckle, lips stretching to a smile, eyes briefly closed, head shortly shaking. “Honey, even if you could _bend_ the universe inside out and make it whole again … you’d still have a _fraction_ of the power that _I_ have,” she explained in good nature, her voice not threating at all. She was completely thinking herself safe. “Just accept it … you can’t save them all.”

Rose paused, preparing herself for the impact. But when Nisha swung her arm, it didn’t sting in the slightest, and Nisha’s vengeful grin vanished. Rose on the other hand, felt a triumphant grin growing on her lips.

Yes, in her vision it was like Nisha put a knife into her back. But that was only figuratively. Nisha didn’t fight with knives. She fought with her abilities. She didn’t try to stab her with a knife. But with her hand, winding into Rose’s essence.

But they had some experience with that, dealing with the Nisha parasite. Containing it meant preventing it from traversing. They just had to build a miniature version of this container, so it could fit into, let’s say, a pocket. And her Time Lords _loved_ tinkering. Nisha couldn’t dip into her like that. At least not that simple.

Rose sprung to her feet, observing the black-haired woman’s sour expression. “As I said, you have no idea what I can do,” she repeated. “Don’t underestimate me or my friends.”

She huffed. “And again – parlour tricks. There’s no real power, it’s just holding me back for so long. And you can’t save this planet,” she spat.

As on command, the TARDIS’s noise rang into her ears and it made her grin once again. “ _I_ can’t,” she agreed. “But _we_ do.”

Something shook the wreckage and Rose had to grip the pillar again. Falling off this thing _now_ would be majorly annoying. Nisha looked around her, their environment seemed to change. The planet was fading. But she soon recognized the stars changed as well. They weren’t shifting the planet. They shifted themselves – including this wreckage.

“You’re shifting us for a fraction of a second,” she realised. “Stealing my ideas,” she added nagging.

“This isn’t a fixed point, Nisha.” Rose crossed her arms. “So _yes_ , we can very well save them all. You won’t find that planet so easily anymore.”

There was singlemindedness behind her dark eyes. “Not while we’re still shifting.”

And Rose felt her trying to shift back, like making her way hand over hand along a rope back to the planet, while the rope was still there. Rose panicked. She had to prevent that. _But how?_ She _could_ hack into her. The last time she rode free with her. Could she also prevent her from traveling?

Making a snap decision, she deactivated the device in her pocket and grabbed the other woman, trying to bleed into her essence. Nisha instantly fought back, and Rose would have immediately fallen away if she wouldn’t have felt the familiar gold rushing through her.

It was clawing on Nisha, trying to hold her back. Only for a moment. She only needed to buy time. But it was cutting into her like nothing ever before, she had the feeling like a sword slashed her body open in the middle. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move and felt nothing but seething pain in her limbs and head and her blood burning inside her veins.

Her vision long black, she felt something change, but lost every remining consciousness in an instant.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She didn’t know what she had expected but waking up in a comfy bed wasn’t it. She cast up her eyes, seeing dim light and feeling the soothing caress of the TARDIS.

She heard voices. They were arguing but weren’t in the room.

Slowly, she tried to get up, but everything hurt in the process. She felt like she was ambushed and all her bones were broken, and her brain throbbed out of her head. Additionally, she was freezing, making her pull the blanket over her shoulders. But every move ached, and she wondered how somebody with her condition was even alive, still not getting what happened to her in the first place.

Her feet touched the cold floor when she tried to get up. Wobbly, she managed to hold herself on her feet somehow. Unbelievably slow, she faltered to the door that was left ajar, recognizing the words that were spoken.

“We both know it wasn’t just Nisha, so don’t give me that crap!” the Doctor shouted.

“You can’t blame it on Bad Wolf though, without it, she would be dead anyway!” the Master shot back in equal measure.

“ _Have_ you _looked_ at her data? The degeneration in her cells is not because she’s shifted into another time grid, like it was the case with you, it’s because her body can’t handle Bad Wolf the way _you_ want it to.”

“Don’t you dare blaming _me_ for that!” the Master growled. “You know… you know bloody well that I wouldn’t risk her if I wasn’t sure-”

“Oh, on the contrary, I _know_ that you would, because you’re a _careless-_ ”

Something was thrown and it shattered against a wall. “You arrogant prick, I should just-”

“What happened?” Her voice was so tiny, barely able to speak up louder, but it seemed to pull them out of their argument. She stood there with her blanket still around her shoulders, holding it at the front.

The Doctor instantly rushed over. “God, how are you feeling?” Concern and fear flooded his face.

“When you look at me like that, even worse,” she half joked. He tried to hold her head, but she flinched, because even the slightest touch seemed to hurt her.

“Blimey…” he sighed and seemed a little helpless. It was not assuring.

“Please, someone tell me what happened. Did it work? Did we shift Nisha away?”

The smile on the Doctor’s face was tender and at the same time full of sorrow. It was because he should have expected her first question to be about the others, not her. “The planet is safe,” he emphasised. “You did hold her back long enough.”

That was good news. But she had the feeling the bad news were just as big. “But it hurt me?” she tried to understand.

He sighed. “Yes,” he answered quietly.

“How?”

“It looks like … Bad Wolf took over stronger than in a long time, and it … caused your cells to degenerate. It doesn’t look like this process continues right now, but we don’t know yet. And we don’t know if your body can repair itself.”

She nodded, unable to react any other way. She noticed the Master further away, there was worry and guilt in his features. “So I won’t die within the next minutes?” she huffed, not knowing if she was bantering or not.

The uncertainty in the Doctor’s face spoke volumes. “I don’t think so, because for now you’re stable,” he tried to calm her. “And we’ll keep you under constant monitoring.”

She swallowed, collecting herself. “I remember that Nisha slipped away from me,” she unfolded, trying to think herself back. “And that I felt that letting Bad Wolf lash out could stop her.” She watched them both unflinchingly. “And that I decided to let that happen.” She let that stand in the room for a second, before she continued. “That decision … with accepting all the consequences … was _mine_ to make,” she accentuated. “And I wouldn’t change it if being confronted with it a second time.” She sighed, suddenly so tired that she threatened to collapse. “So please stop fighting,” she added wearily. “And please get me back to bed.”

She admittedly didn’t twig who was accompanying her to the bed, but she was happy to finally be there again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading your thoughts is a joy <3


	14. Wounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split up this last chapter. Even though the last chapter is called "Interrupted" and I loved the idea of the last two chapters being called "Hero, Interrupted", but I nonetheless think it's better this way xD

Rose felt like she was in a dream at least for a week. Not in a good one, but one that clouded your perception, experiences and actions. She was daily checked in the infirmary to certify that her cells were at least stable. And with any luck – that the way she was gradually feeling better – was a hint for a regeneration of her cells. The Doctor said there were clues for that. But he didn’t want to raise false hopes. Liz accompanied her almost every step on the way and slept in her bed every time the Doctor wasn’t there.

They had left Nisha on that wreckage and fled as far as they could, trying to cover their tracks. At least Rose believed she had heard the Doctor say this at some point. Obviously they shouldn’t be that easy to find.

In the nights, the Doctor was always with her whether he was sleeping or not. And as soon as not every touch was painful anymore, he huddled up to her in a way that made her feel safe and secure. She was once in a semi-sleep, when she heard his soft words at her ear. “I’m never gonna leave you,” he sacredly promised, and it made her all warm inside.

The trust and cohesion between them was as strong as ever.

He was helping her in the bathtub, not for the first time. She felt a little fitter since a few days, so when he helped her sitting on a chair next to the tub, she was positive that she would be a little more autonomous this time. So she carefully stripped out of her top, letting it fall to the ground. But when it came to her pyjama bottoms, she had yet again to resign. She huffed with a whiny laugh.

The Doctor turned around, having picked up a towel. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he soon got it. He came closer, putting the towel aside and kneeled before her, touching her knees. “It already gets better,” he tried to assure her. “Give it some time.”

“It’s still frustrating,” she said quietly. “And exhausting.”

“I’m certainly not gonna argue.” His grin was thin. Then he stood up, softly taking her arms in his hands. “Let’s stand up, shall we?”

And she did. After being completely bare, he helped her into the tub and the warm water was soothing her skin and muscles. It felt heavenly to sink into it.

“Temperature okay?” he asked.

“It’s perfect,” she sighed, and he let go of her when she was nested. When she heard steps towards the door, she turned her head. “Don’t you stay?” Somehow, she didn’t want him to leave her. She _needed_ him to stay.

He blinked. “I was just getting a cup of tea for you, but I can stay?”

She stretched out her arm to him. “Will you join me?”

He smiled at her and came closer again, touching her hand. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” she assured him.

He stripped down his clothes and very carefully climbed into the water with her, positioning himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her belly. She sighed happily, completely content and safe, glad to feel his closeness. But she also felt weak. Not only physically. “I’m sorry I’m so helpless right now.”

She felt him press her closer, his head leaned against hers from behind. “Don’t even think that. I’m _so_ glad you’re stable.” His voice became a heavy whisper. “I told you, I’ll be there for you until the end of time.”

Tears swelled in her eyes and she wound her fingers around his arms. Right now, there was no place she’d rather be.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

So yeah, her trust in him and their relationship didn’t really waver.

Spending almost every minute together might have some influence on that as well. She seldom saw the Master these days. Since they decided that they shouldn’t work on her structure until they knew it was safe, he apparently seemed to have no excuse to call upon her. And so he didn’t.

When her thoughts became a bit clearer and she generally felt stronger, she regularly went for a walk, strengthening her circulation. She was glad that she obviously got better, and she felt sheltered in the nights with the Doctor. But she had to admit – she missed the presence of the blond Time Lord. And wondered if he was deliberately dodging her.

She was in her short jim-jams, for still spending most of her time in bed, but was wandering down the halls of the TARDIS. It was already evening, everywhere the light was dim. It was then when she decided to silently plead the ship to give her a hint about the Master’s current location.

The next door appearing she recognized as the door of his room. And she simply knocked at it. When there wasn’t an answer, she called his name. And after a second, she heard steps and the door opened. The Time Lord was obviously surprised to see her. “Shouldn’t _you_ be in bed?”

“I’m in bed all the time, I actually enjoy toddling around a bit. And I …” she hesitated, “wanted to see you.”

He was observing her for the longest time, until she actually had to lean against the door frame for support, and that’s when he reacted. He gently took her elbows. “Come,” he said softly and led her to his bed. She climbed on it, letting one leg dangle over the edge. He almost mirrored her.

“Are you surprised to see me?” she asked directly, trying to understand him.

“Well, maybe a bit.”

“Why?”

He frowned. “What do you mean, why? We’ve got no work right now. _You_ have to get better first.”

“And that’s the only reason we should see each other?”

Her straight-forward question muted him. He glanced down. “I’m not sure what you’re expecting right now,” he told her carefully and successfully avoided unfolding his own emotions.

Apart from that, there was another reason he seldom showed up anymore. “You know what happened… wasn’t your fault, right?”

There was a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes. “Maybe. Maybe not. I know you would do it again, but it’s an irrefutable fact that I pushed this whole thing.”

She leaned forwards to catch his face with her hands. “You can’t take responsibility for that. I’m a grown woman, I alone am responsible for the decisions I make. Get it?”

He grabbed her hands, guiding them down without unlocking them from his hands. “Maybe. But this damn panicky feeling of losing you made me question some of _my_ decisions.”

Her smile was tender. “I’m not lost. And without your confidence, I would’ve never even gotten that far.” She suddenly leaned over and wound her arms around his shoulders, hugging him from the side. And she felt him doing the same, his hands snaking around her body. “And to take up your earlier question,” she murmured into her own arm that was currently entangling him, “I came, because I _missed_ you. Didn’t … didn’t you even a little?”

She was pulled over in a flash, so that she practicably straddled him, both her legs beside his lap. And he unashamedly pressed her against him, his face buried itself into her shoulder. “How can you ask that?” he sighed. “You just make it very hard sometimes – pun intended,” he grinned against the strap of her top, “to know your boundaries.”

She swallowed. “I know.”

“I know it’s all dynamic, I don’t intend to put you on a spot,” he added. “Still.” And she grabbed him even a little closer and pushed her kneeling legs against him. There was silence for a while, before he spoke up again. “Stay with me for a while?”

 _Should she?_ After a pause, she nodded. “’m tired anyway. I’ll stay.”

He pulled his head back, still perceptibly close, stroking her cheek and scanning her face. He seemed to search for something or pose a question. Rose wasn’t sure what. But then he closed in, touching her cheek with his lips, giving it a soft kiss. Her eyes fell shut, and he kissed her again on her temple, and she felt his sigh against her ear. He wandered up, pecking her forehead and came down the other side of her face again. She felt his lips on her cheek, on the corner of her mouth and then on her jaw. Her breath hitched slightly when he lightly nipped on it and went further down.

She felt more open-mouthed kisses on her throat, leaving a somewhat wet trail. His hand pushed on her lower back, shifting her closer until there was no air left between their lower bodies. And suddenly he was _there_ , on her sensitive spot of her neck he knew so well. And he brazenly sucked on it.

Her body twitched at the sensation and a gasp escaped her. She didn’t know whether she had expected that. He hid a low moan and let his tongue trace her skin there. Then his mouth continued his way, getting to her shoulder. He used his hand to gently push that strap to the side, slowly driving it over her shoulder so that it fell down. As he kissed along her collarbone, his hand carefully came to rest at her side, stealing light caresses against the swell of her breast. Every now and again, he slipped his thumb along the underside, never quite staying.

His mouth eventually got to her outer shoulder and only after he stopped his ministrations for a bit, she opened her lids again, finding his searching look. Before anyone could say something, she felt herself being lifted. She landed on her back in the bed, head nestling onto the pillow. He was above her and continued where he had stopped. Ever so soft kisses ghosted over her upper arm, soothing her aching muscles there. His lips were becoming bolder again as he came to the inner side of her elbow and peppered their way up to her wrist which he was holding up with one hand. He sighed into her sensitive skin and leaned into her hand, before glancing to her. She watched him with hooded eyes. “This feel good?” he asked quietly.

Despite the room being only lightened dimly, she was moved by the open honesty in his eyes. “This is actually really nice,” she said without a voice. “My muscles feel very sore, and this is … nice.”

He smiled at that, and came closer again, hovering above her and leading his mouth to her ear. Her eyes shut again, as he pressed his mouth directly under it, sensually kissing her. He then slipped her earlobe between his lips, allowing himself to gently suck it, loving her slight squirm underneath his body. When he let it slide out of his mouth, he silently whispered, “Good.”

Then he attended to her other arm, feeling her relax under his ministrations. When he came back to her collarbone, he risked wandering a little lower. He didn’t dare moving to her breast, though. That’s not what this was about. However, he kissed his way down between them swiftly, above the fabric of her shirt. Only to hike up the material from below with both his hands. He saw her bare belly, kissing her warmth there. He let his open mouth voluptuously slide along her lower ribs, feeling her breath getting heavier. Snogging her further down, he came to her navel, exploring it briefly with his tongue. He had never tasted her here. They had heavily made out, but barely beyond her head. This was – new territory. And she shifted, verging on squirming again – in a good way.

He interrupted himself to lean his forehead against her belly, taking a breath. He needed to cool down. His intended distance was grumbling.

Because he could smell her.

The evidence of his deed’s effect was only a few centimetres down.

But he knew that she didn’t want that. And he shouldn’t make this about something _he_ wanted. She just wanted to escape the nasty aches of her body for a little while, and that’s what he had promised. Nothing more.

So he got a grip on himself and got up again. When he was, he pulled her into a gentle hug and she instantly put her arms around his middle. He was resting his lips against her neck, his hand carefully kneading her thighs. They lay sideward and he pulled her thigh over his leg to massage it, slowly down and up again.

She had only shorts. He couldn’t help but getting very high and sliding his hand on the inside of her thigh. She was sensitive there, again twitching lightly. He could easily do it. Feeling up the evidence of what was clouding his scent. His judgement. Just once slipping inside, feeling her desire rather than just _knowing_ it.

She must have caught up on his thoughts. Or maybe he had been too rigid, clutching her a little too hard. Because she reached for his hand and led it to her back, before cuddling up on him again.

He breathed out but nudged her closer, while delicately kneading the muscles on her spine. It was the mental distance he had needed. He simply lay there, holding her. “Sorry,” he whispered eventually.

She was still thoroughly relaxed in his arms. “Don’t be.” It wasn’t long until she peacefully fell asleep.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It apparently was hard to grasp what happened to her body. She felt better every day now, but she still felt weakened. The pain in her limbs has never left her as hasn’t her fatigue. She could barely stay awake for a day.

She was in the infirmary with the Doctor who tried to explain her the things he couldn’t quite understand himself. He ruffled through his hair. “You’re feeling better, so that’s good,” he tried to sound hopeful.

“Don’t pamper me and spill the hard facts,” she requested immediately.

That made him sigh. He came from behind a screen and stood in front of her sitting form on the infirmary bed. “There’s still remaining damage on your cells. It kind of stabilised itself and it does in fact repair itself – to a certain extent. The Master’s theory was always that you can grow with it. And apparently this had been the case. _Again_ , to a certain extent. I’m … I’m not sure if your body will ever be able to handle Bad Wolf in full force.”

Was it disappointment she was feeling? She had had so much hope to be able to beat Nisha. But maybe the woman had been right. She _wasn’t_ as powerful as she had hoped. “Even if not …” she started feebly, “my body obviously could handle it somewhat. And that’s better than nothing, right?”

“Rose,” he sighed, stepping between her legs, stroking over her thighs. “Your worth is _not_ determined by your ability to handle Bad Wolf. You’re _so_ much more than your ‘superhero’ power.”

His words hit harder than she had expected. She had never planned to define herself by her powers. But she now recognized that she somehow had. She had accepted that she had changed a lot – partly _because_ she had her powers to rely on now and she could dive into that. She had been capable to do real good. And she had been capable to keep up with _them_ – her fellow travellers.

But now she suddenly had – nothing.

“Are…” she hesitantly stammered, searching pleadingly and sceptically his face. “Are you sure about that?”

His hands slid on her cheeks. “You’re so much more to _me_ ,” he answered firmly. His smile was tender. “You’re a real hero, you know that? And you were long before your re-emerging powers of Bad Wolf.”

Her chuckle was short, thankful and emotional. She grabbed his hand on her cheek. “You’d say that even if I can use these powers never again? _Ever?_ Just plain old Rose?” She never realised that this was a real fear for her. That she would be … boring and useless for him. For this life. That he would be bored with her someday. She shouldn’t feel this way, she knew better than that. And still, she couldn’t completely break away from it. But maybe only because she felt that way herself. Like she wasn’t good enough for herself.

He on the other hand seemed so sure of it. “I fell in love with ‘plain old Rose’,” he emphasised. “You were always _it_ for me.”

She pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight. It wasn’t like she didn’t know. It still felt good to hear it. They lingered there for a long while, before she leaned back again. “So,” she sniffed, swallowing her almost-tears. “Apart from all that – I’d pretty much like to feel less sick. Is there a way to heal my cells somehow?”

“I have some treatment ideas,” he offered. “I’d dare to maybe try it in the near future, now that you seem stable over a longer period.”

“What about,” she swallowed. “What about my connection with the Master? You still think connecting would rather hurt me than help me?”

He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I would not be opposed to give it a careful try at some point. Bad Wolf is responsible for your condition, but it also supported you a lot.”

Rose nodded. “If the Master is also willing to risk it. Your reproaches clearly made him think.”

“I certainly hope so,” he huffed.

“I spent the night with him,” she decided to simply clarify that, even if this sentence probably came a bit sudden.

His hand loosely stemmed into his hips. “Figured,” he confessed.

“It’s not …” She liked that they obviously could talk about that, but she didn’t want to make it awkward. “I mostly just fell asleep and slept through the night.”

“As long as you haven’t slept with him, I don’t need the details,” he said with dry humour.

She gently took his fingers. “I didn’t and I wouldn’t.” And she meant it. Not kissing him had always been a challenge – so much she could admit to herself. She _was_ drawn to him, no doubts there. Not feeling him close, not cuddling him had always felt strange and maybe even _wrong_. She obviously wanted that kind of closeness and maybe this was something the three of them could manage. She didn’t know yet how far she wanted this to go though. She simply would take one step at a time and see what felt comfortable. So right now – she actually really _didn’t_ want to sleep with him. And maybe never would.

He actually enfolded her into a hug. “I know you wouldn’t,” he assured her. And it surprisingly calmed her a little further. He sometimes seemed to have a somewhat better perception than herself of what she would do. She doubted for a while that she could trust herself with some things concerning the Master. So it was all the more reassuring when the Doctor believed her, because she could believe herself then. And she simply felt good with how things were progressing right now and decided not to question it anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... the next chapter might or might not be the last ;-)


	15. Interrupted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, there are some explicit bits in it^^

Rose didn’t know why she was knocking at his door _again_. It opened a second later and revealed the blond Time Lord. He paused, a subtle smile on his face. “To what do I own the pleasure?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” she shrugged. _Wait, was this true?_ “Can I come in?”

He didn’t break his grin, but he backed off and left her space to enter. So she did. She heard him close the door and felt him step up to her from behind. “Any plans tonight?” he asked lowly, and his fingers suddenly slid down her arms with a feather-light touch. She felt goosebumps spreading.

There _were_ things she wanted to talk with him about. Things like the potential resuming of their connecting sessions, to help her or what _he_ considered to be the best option for her – he probably knew her mind better than anyone else (herself included).

But something was off (wrong?) tonight.

“I … I was wondering whether to continue with our mind session,” she still tried. “If you consider it dangerous.” She was missing half of the things she had wanted to say, but never mind.

His hands slid up again, laying themselves on her shoulder. His head nestled against hers from behind. “We could try that at some point,” he mumbled against her ear. “Right now, I just want to hear your pulse pumping for me.”

His voice vibrated through her skin, and he used his hand to pull down the strap of her nightgown. “Please don’t,” she barely reached a whisper. She was feeling everything by far too intense right now. And she didn’t trust herself.

“Are you sure?”

 _No_. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

“I can just start,” he offered after a span of silence, “and you tell me when to stop.” He added whispering, “I promise I’ll stop.” He ended this sentence with a kiss on her neck, careful and sensual.

She shivered but didn’t move away. She could end this anytime, right? She felt herself nod almost without realising. He moaned quietly and continued snogging her naked shoulder. His hands snaked around her middle, fondling her stomach. He was back on her neck, sucking it, not at all shy about it. She felt her knees give in a little and her breath getting heavier. The next moment, quiet moans escaped her lips.

His right hand went to her thigh, playing with the edge of her nightgown. He stayed there for a while and then seemed to decide to pull it up. Up until her waist. His hand slipped underneath it, stroking over her hip and thigh, feeling her panties there. She had never felt his hands on those areas back then on the Valiant, not skin to skin. So intimate, so sultry, so very much where they shouldn’t be. All the while kissing her.

His hand eventually returned over the cloth. But it wandered up her belly all the way to her breast. At first barely touching, he got bolder, lifting it slightly, feeling its weight. She squirmed in his embrace and felt his heavy sigh on her neck.

The next instant, he lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the bed. When he leaned over her lying form, she saw his adventurous smile. He briefly came closer, letting his lips brush against her cheek. “Tell me if it’s too much.”

When he leaned back, he focused on her eyes, but carefully pulled up her gown. It was deliciously slow, and she had the feeling she should protest. But something in his glance was mesmerising her. She felt his excitement and first and foremost felt his hand on her stomach, driving the fabric upwards. Heavy breath was pouring out of her open mouth and she felt her heart pumping against her chest. What would he do? How far would he go if she’d let him?

He suddenly moved. Getting lower. Her nighty was up to her breast. He started kissing her belly, like he did last time. She felt him reaching her navel again, but this time he continued. She twitched as he reached her womb and felt her head leaning back into the pillows. His mouth reached her panties. He wandered lower still, kissing her above the fabric. She felt his hot breath on her mons pubis. And still lower. Until he almost reached her clit. She didn’t register how unbelievably turned on she was until he skipped that area. Part of her cursed the shit out of her for feeling that way. For letting it go this far in the first place. The other part just wanted to feel. To finally feel him. To see if he could live up to his sodding bragging.

Those coherent thoughts were dampened by his mouth on her inner thigh. She gasped as he sucked there, fighting the urge to spread her legs a bit further. He switched to her other leg and simultaneously started to fondle the seam of her underwear. She couldn’t stop squirming. She wanted him closer. She wanted him _there_.

That’s when he got up again, nestling himself beside her. _Shit_ , was _she_ the one breathing so damn loud? What the actual fuck even happened here? But his face was so close again, his hand never stopped fiddling with her panties. “Out of breath?” he teased. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Shuddup,” she sighed but he was the one shutting _her_ up when he slid lightly underneath her knickers, right there where her inner leg ended.

“Let me feel it,” he pleaded but it had a commanding tone. His nose nudged hers. “If nothing else, just let me feel.”

Well, she wanted to feel, right? She was unable to speak, so she nodded again.

Was he surprised? He shifted even closer as did his finger. Her eyes closed and she felt herself clutching his upper arm. His finger ghosted over her folds and she absolutely _needed_ him to go there already, swallowing her breaths.

And then he slipped inside, and her moan filled the little space between their faces. She wasn’t the only one, though. His silent growl blew against her lips. She felt him almost crumble with need. Up until now, he hadn’t _really_ expected that she would allow him to do this. He felt her dripping for him, slowly sliding in and out was so easy, so welcome. And she couldn’t come back from that now, he was just fucking fingering her.

And despite the fact that she could practically feel his thoughts about it, she simultaneously was so lost in the sensations he was giving her. His movements were slow and careful and left her with so much longing.

_What was fucking wrong here?_

The thought was as fleeting as all her other thoughts. Before she realised that the sensation was gone. He was hovering above her again and his finger was suddenly near his mouth. Without looking away from her, he enveloped his digit with his lips, taking his time to suck it all off. “You’re delicious,” he rumbled. “Taste even better than you smell.”

She wasn’t able to answer anything. Apart from the fact that all this blew her away, something in her head was arguing with herself. But again – before she could dwell on that, his hands were on her temples and he slid inside her mind. It was so unexpected and intensive, her body shuddered and quivered. She was hearing her own moans as if she wasn’t herself. Her mind but also her body tingled in all the right places, teasing her almost into oblivion. This was shredding her, but she loved every second of it. When she finally saw his face again, she knew what he wanted. He had even said it once. He wanted to see her face when she fell apart.

And before she could get clear about it, he got exactly what he yearned for. She felt the overwhelming rush unexpectedly spreading into her whole body, heard her own breathy moan and jerked up in a completely dark room, no weight found above her.

The TARDIS lighted the room faintly. And she found herself in her bedroom, the Doctor sleeping beside her, but stirring at her sudden movement.

Her heart calmed and she had to admit, she was heavily relieved that this hadn’t been real. Even though it absolutely had felt real. Everything.

“Are you alright?” the Doctor murmured. “Bad dream?”

Boy, how would she even begin to explain this one?

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She was knocking at his door, for real this time. When the door opened, she asked, “Can I come in?” But she didn’t even wait, just entered.

The Master froze perplexed. “Be my guest,” he answered sarcastically.

“’m sorry, I just…” She brushed her hands over her face. “I dreamt something last night – _not_ a vision,” she added maybe a little too vividly, “and the way I perceived some things made the Doctor ask what _you’d_ make of it, so I thought I simply ask.”

He frowned but nodded. “All right, let’s sit down.” He walked towards a little table and they took a seat. Rose had actually changed – into sweatpants and a sweater. To not send any wrong or mixed signals. “What did you perceive?”

So, this was the tricky part. “You were there, in that dream,” she started and hated how his left brow went up. “And I could pick up on your thoughts and feelings like they are mine. Like when we are connected. But it was more than a dream, it felt _so_ real. Almost as if we had been connected.”

He looked pleadingly. “I would have noticed this, I think.”

“So, you … didn’t happen to dream ‘bout me last night?” Why did her voice get so high?

“If you’re asking me if we shared a dream – we didn’t. Still a touch telepath here.”

“But _I’m_ not,” she interposed. “No sodding clue what _I_ am, to be honest.”

He seemed to consider it. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not sure what Bad Wolf can do either. But I’m still convinced that I would have felt at least _any_ thing. Why are you so sure it wasn’t just a dream?”

She sighed, slumping in the chair. “I thought that at first, but I _never_ dreamt like that. Like when we are connected, like when I feel everything the way _you_ do. My instinct tells me there’s more to it. And something _did_ recently happen to my body concerning Bad Wolf, so…”

“Well, what did you dream about?”

She was frozen for a second. “Wha’?” she made feebly.

“That dream, what was is about?” he kept digging.

She shook her head. “That’s not the important part. I just wanted to know if _you_ have sensed anything last night.”

A disbelieving frown and little smile was on his face. “What’s the matter, Rose? Just spill it. It obviously alerted you in some way and you usually have a good gut feeling concerning Bad Wolf. _If_ we’re gonna talk about this, we’ll _be_ _talking_ about this.”

 _Well, shit_. Against her better judgement, she had hoped to avoid this. “S’just not important for the thing I want to figure out,” she tried again.

His eyes hooded a bit, his smile was crooked, and he skimmed her body. “Your cardiac frequency speeds up and your hands are getting sweaty,” her informed her. “Something to hide, little one?”

She sighed uncomfortably, shifting in her seat. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” she murmured annoyed.

Now his grin grew. “You know how I _love_ things being spelled out. Especially when you’re this flustered.”

She huffed, hiding a grin. “Git.”

“I’ll take this as a term of endearment.”

She took a breath, clapping her hands on her upper legs. “Fine, it was a … naughty dream.”

“What are you, _four_?” he snorted with laughter.

“Can we just move _past_ the teasing and you tell me if we can look into it somehow?” she begged testily.

“I dunno, _did_ we move past the teasing?” he chaffed.

She groaned but her eyes became slits. “You know, this would just be so _you_ , planting some thoughts and ideas in my head.”

His laughter was scandalised this time. “Don’t blame _me_ for _your_ sex dreams!”

“I…” she faltered. “Just … do you have an idea or not?”

“Tell me about your dream.”

“Bite me!” she spat, being fed up.

“Rose.” He still hid a chuckle. “You can skip the details but give me something to work here.”

“But I told you, it’s _not_ important!” she insisted.

“How do you know if it’s _really_ the way I feel? Maybe it was only a dream after all.”

He had a point. And she had to chill out, it hadn’t been something she had had any control over. Her next sigh was resigned. „I, uh… blimey.” She straightened herself, laying her arms with folded hands on the table. “I’m not sure I remember everything clearly. But one thing was that, uh … you’re able to smell me when I’m … well, when I’m aroused, but … that you fantasise about feeling it too.” She didn’t break eye contact. “And tasting it.” She swallowed. “It doesn’t feel complete otherwise. Because you feel I can back out otherwise and you don’t want me to back out.”

She couldn’t interpret his expression. There was a gentle blink, but otherwise it wasn’t changing. Finally, he let his hand slump on the table as well, he glanced downwards. “Well, can’t say it isn’t so,” he eventually sighed.

The way he delivered this line made her think of something else. Something a little more heart-warming. “I also felt how you always pay attention to my boundaries.” She smiled a bit. “No matter what it means for you.”

“Quite the knight, aren’t I?” His smile was fake at first, but it became sincere. “And _yes_ ,” he emphasised. “I don’t want to cross your boundaries. I hope you know that.”

Right now, she did, no tiny doubt. “Oh, and you want to see me when I come,” she added almost drily now, just wanting this part to be over. “But you actually said that when you had this aphrodisiac. So I could’ve just processed this. But again – it’s about the way I felt it all.”

One corner of his mouth went up again. “Did I make you come?”

She rolled her eyes, trying to gloss over her uncomfortable nervousness. “Don’t forget that it was _just_ a dream, you obviously had nothing to do with it,” she reminded him.

He nodded pleased. “So I did.”

Oh _God_ , there was an actual question she wanted to pose. Should she though? _Why_ did she even want to know? “Is it possible to come only from connecting?” she tried to pull it off casually, failing miserably.

He had _way_ too much fun with this. “Curious, are we?”

“Well … it would be another clue that I didn’t make this completely up.” Again, she heard her own resigned voice.

“It sometimes comes close enough, doesn’t it?” he drawled. “Is there a little wish in you to give it a go some day?”

“Don’t twist my words.”

“But it wouldn’t be that different from what we are doing now.”

“Yes!” she disagreed in disbelief. “And for God’s sake, it was _just_ a dream in the sense that you actually had _nothing_ to do with it!” she cried aghast, burying her face in her hands. “God, this is so embarrassing.”

“Wh-hy?” he laughed again. “You just said it, it was just a dream, why so sensitive about it? Maybe because it’s partly true?”

“Bitch, _what_?” She almost looked murderous and it was spurring him on.

“Well, I _was_ kissing you up and down your body the other night,” he teased. “Sparked some fantasies, right?”

“You’re _not_ helping. One. Bit,” she spat. She sprang to her feet, willing to walk out on him. “This s’all senseless, why did I even come here?”

He ran after her. “Wait,” he still chuckled, grabbing her arm.

She shoved it away. “Do-on’t,” she whined grouchily like a little kid. “You’re annoying!” Was she pouting?

“Let’s start over, okay?” he grinned. “First of all, I’ll just satisfy your curiosity and I don’t want to see any eyerolls.” His finger had been raised warningly for a second. “Is it possible to come only from some mind sharing? Definitely yes. If you involve the right areas. But it also depends on the structure if it's possible. I know it can be _insanely_ stimulating during sex.” His smile played around the corners of his mouth. “You’re missing out, petal.” He actually knew that she also connected with the Doctor. He often felt him on the surface level of her mind. And even if he didn’t want to think about it – they probably also did this during sex. That was probably why she never explicitly told him about it. But she hopefully got the gist that _their_ connection would feel a whole lot different.

She only chewed her teeth. “Is this part over? Can I roll my eyes now?”

He chuckled. “Now that that is out of the way,” he continued calmer, more intimate, “tell me why you’re really here.”

She blinked confused. “I told you. I wanted to know if it’s somehow possible that it has something to do with Bad Wolf, what it means, and if you can look into it.”

“That’s one reason,” he acknowledged. “What else in on your mind?”

Her look fell down. When she spoke, it was quietly. “I wanted to know if you think connecting is even an option anymore.”

She felt his finger on her chin, gently directing it upwards. “You’re afraid that it isn’t.”

“Well,” she huffed, her eyes wandering around. “I … would lose something. If it didn’t work anymore,” she confessed. “And I already talked with the Doctor about it, I don’t try to put my self-worth in it, but… I’d still lose something.”

He paused, letting her words sink in. “I absolutely get it,” he eventually told her. “And I wish I could assure you that all will be okay. But I can’t. What I _can_ do – is glimpse in your mind. Right here and now.”

She flinched a little. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I’ll be careful,” he promised. “And I’ll pull immediately out if you’re hurting.”

She ignored the ambiguity of this sentence. She wanted to try it. She wanted to know, she hated the uncertainty. So she nodded.

His fingers drove along her temple and she took a deep breath. “Try to relax,” he told her. “Your system is still frail.”

“You think?” she joked half-heartedly. He smiled. And then opened her mind. Her hands promptly rose to grab his elbows, she felt dizzy and he felt raw in her mind. “It feels _not_ right,” she informed him.

“I know,” he stated. “But you’re stable. Want me to resume our connection? It would be imperative to get more information.”

Did she? Well, she really did, didn’t she? “Do it. I’m ready.”

She felt their minds click, but it felt like a rupture. She squeezed his arms tighter and screw her lids shut. She felt him slowly move in there, gently petting the walls of her mind, until a familiar tinge of zest was echoing through her. A silent moan escaped her, and she tried to focus on these feelings. Whatever he did, he repeated it again and again until the harsh ache melted away. She wasn’t able to concentrate on anything he did, she just let herself feel. So many times, she had soothed him and now he was soothing her. And he did it deliciously well.

She didn’t know how long, but he felt him slipping out again, now hearing her own pant and feeling her clasp his arms. Slowly, her eyes opened. She was leaning her head forwards, against his chest. And she felt his mouth against her hair, simply holding her. She swallowed. “Tell me.”

She felt his sigh. “Good news is … I believe it possible that you don’t have to go without your powers forever.”

Rose didn’t know how much she had wanted to hear that. But she didn’t know if she really should feel this way. “But?” she queried.

“Your mind and body _have_ been damaged.” He cradled her face a bit more and she felt a whiff of guilt flying her way. “It is not to be disregarded. You _do_ need time.” He suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. “But I’ll be there on every step on the way.”

She needed a moment to squeeze him also a little firmer. “What about my dream?” she asked almost absently.

“I couldn’t recognize anything, but that doesn’t mean much. I simply couldn’t scrutinise every aspect of your structure, you need to heal a little bit more first.”

“So I am healing? On my own?”

“Slowly, yeah.”

She didn’t know how long they were standing here. She felt small. And she hated that she felt this way. But how much she could use her powers and if there was permanent damage – it was still uncertain.

She felt him gently take her head to look at her. His nose was touching hers and she felt his breath when he spoke up. “You’ll get your abilities back,” he tried to assure her.

But what if she didn’t? How would he feel about her then?

“You want to lie down for a moment?” There was small smile. “Or for the night?”

But that wasn’t what she needed right now. So she shook her head. “No, ‘m gonna go. But thank you for looking after me.” She gave him a quick peck on his cheek and then left his room.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

When she found the Doctor still in their room, she walked straight-up in front of him. “The Master says I’ll probably heal, but there’s no guarantee about the damage’s actual impact.”

He nodded. “Yeah, expected that. It’s tricky, we’ll simply have to see, Rose. The important thing is that you’ll feel better again. Anything else doesn’t even matter.”

She paused, intensely mustering his face, his unconditionally supportive eyes. “Can I just thank you, Doctor?” She was suddenly emotional, feeling her chest swell. “For giving me the feeling that you’ll love me, no matter what.”

He looked astonished but stepped forward. “Of course, I do,” he almost whispered.

She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed his collars and pressed her lips against his.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Doctor had asked for the Master to meet up in the infirmary. He wanted to show him Rose’s newest data. Well, he wanted his opinion. He was pretty sure that he had already seen it.

As he walked along the hall, the blond one suddenly joined him on his side. “I thought you’d be already there,” he said. “Is your inner clock broken?”

“You’re late yourself,” the Doctor argued.

“Yeah, but I did this intentionally to annoy you,” he quipped.

“Figured.” The Doctor had to hide a smile. Also, should he be honest? The Master seldom missed an opportunity to rub things in _his_ face. “I’m late, because I was still cuddling with Rose in bed.”

Predictably, he stayed silent for a second. “Good for you, _mate_ ,” he then added faster than the Doctor would have predicted. “Maybe you should do more than cuddling, though.” They entered the infirmary. “Because _you’re_ obviously not the one she has sex dreams about.”

They were on consoles opposite to each other. The Doctor looked pointedly at him. “Stop,” he warned, but in was in good nature.

The Master leaned on his console, also grinning. “Can you blame me?”

There was a slight huff, but he wasn’t mad. “No,” he confessed, a hidden grin on his lips. “But speaking of … You say that she felt like you were connected _wasn’t_ actually your connection?”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Her mind isn’t ready for a connection yet. It’s strange though, because why should it be ready for something else?”

“Yeah, the data supports the hypothesis that her mind wouldn’t do any of that stuff on its own right now. Everything to do with connecting or traversing timelines. It’s resting and recovering right now.”

“Could it be a side effect of recovering?” the Master reflected. “Maybe it’s testing its own limits and improvements.”

The Doctor lifted a brow. “Shouldn’t _you_ be the one knowing this?”

He shrugged. “When I’ll enter her mind again in a few weeks, I’ll probably know more.”

The Doctor paused. “Are you sure that it doesn’t do more damage than that it helps?”

His counterpart sighed, crossing his arms in thought. “It’s like aching muscles. They need to rest when you’ve done too much exercise, but when your muscles are healed, you should train again.” His eyes rested on the Doctor. “I know you think I put _my_ needs before Rose’s. But I promise you, Doctor, I _don’t_. Not anymore.”

He paused, but eventually seemed to accept his words. “I’ll try to trust you.” There was a small smile. “I said, when you came abord, that I’ll lend you trust. That I _want_ to trust you. So I’ll try.”

“Don’t trust me on _everything_!” he protested exaggerated. But then shrugged. “But you can trust me on this.”

The Doctor simply grinned, getting his point. Until his eyes suddenly went big, he took a step back, hands in the air. “Oh!” he called out and the Master frowned. “I know what happened! Rose was _not_ doing it herself.”

“What did then?”

The Doctors face wasn’t only marked with insight anymore – but with horror.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Rose shifted in her bed, feeling Liz cuddled up beside her. A sudden cold hit her and she was so shaken, she jerked up.

She wasn’t alone.

The air around a chair standing in the room scattered in a way she knew by now. And her pulse immediately sped up.

“Don’t try moving,” Nisha’s voice told her, just before she completely appeared. “You know you could never catch or hit me.”

Rose was frozen. She couldn’t run away even if she wanted to. Not for long anyway. How did she find them? _Shit_ , why didn’t they make even more preparations? Of course, Nisha would be pissed. “What do you want?”

There was a chuckle. “You have the _nerve_ to ask me that? You’re a presumptuous little bitch, you know that?”

“You wanted to _murder_ the population of a _whole_ planet! If that makes me a bitch to want to save them, _fine_.”

“I had the fucking right to do what I want with them!” she yelled, but then cooled down again. “I searched for this fucking planet, but it’s simply hard to get the exact time, when you’re not the one who’s done the shifting. And I don’t have the fucking patience right now. So you’re going to tell me where it is.”

Rose had to brace herself, her whole courage. “You know I can’t do that.”

She huffed, a cold grin on her lips. The next instant, she wasn’t on the chair anymore, but her bed and Rose jerked away, waking Liz in the process. But as soon as the lizard saw the other woman, it snarled and was ten times its size with that bubbling sound, breaking the bed in the process. Rose felt the collision with the ground, and then tried to climb out of the wreckage, behind Liz, and Nisha backed off after the reptile’s breath was shrieking her way.

“Good girl,” Rose murmured as she crawled between her leathery legs. But she already heard Nisha’s voice. “Oh, for God’s sake…” It wasn’t really fearful. And the next moment, Rose knew why. Because she was teleported, landing on her hands and knees in the control room.

“That’s better,” the woman said, and Rose noticed both Time Lords also being here. “All together to chat.”

Drudgingly, Rose tried to stand up, seeing how they stepped towards Nisha. “Stop, or I’ll tear her wretched essence apart,” she ordered with no humour whatsoever. They complied, with gritted teeth and fisted hands. “You know why I’m here. So spill it.”

The Doctor shifted tensed, but Rose was the one who answered. “We won’t.”

“Shshsh,” she hissed with her hand stretched out in Rose’s direction. “I’m talking to your boyfriends now. The ones who actually shifted us.”

“Nisha,” the Doctor started insistently, and her eyes narrowed. “Let’s talk about this. I’m sure there’s a way.”

She chuckled with cold amusement. “Sure there is. Tell me what I want to know.”

“You can’t condemn a whole planet for the crime of a handful of people,” he countered just as icily.

Her ruby lips stretched wider. “As I understand it, _you_ did something similar.”

The Doctor swallowed, but the Master pre-empted him. “That was different. He wanted to prevent further death. _You_ just want further death.”

“Tsk! What are _you_ speaking up for him, you’re the one who _doesn’t_ care.” She strode a bit towards him, a challenging grin on her face. “Oh yeah, that’s right, I forgot. You’re the one who _pretends_ to not care.”

“No, I’m the one who speaks his mind, not giving a damn about what the others think about it,” he shot back. “Like _you_ being a skinny little bitch.”

“Which _doesn’t_ mean we can’t talk about it,” the Doctor threw in, trying to prevent her wrath and to reassume his earlier attempts. “And you’re right.” With that he stepped a little closer to her. “I’m no innocent. I’ve taken lives. That’s why I _know_ how it can destroy your soul.”

She was silent for a while, not moving. Then she leaned forwards. “Sweet, really. But what soul?” She was out of his sight in a wink, suddenly close to Rose again. “But you know what, the reason I lost the planet wasn’t _them_. It was in fact you.” Rose stepped back, but she strode closer. “They moved us away, alright, but _you_ thwarted me. I kinda wanna hurt _you_ for it, not them.”

“Stop!” Rose heard the Doctor hiss, but Nisha only lifted her arm and they knew it would be a mistake to intervene.

“So. Tell me where to find it. I have a feeling they also give in when _you_ say yes.” Her nose was curling mockingly.

“This is _not_ an option, Nisha,” Rose tried to make it clear for her.

There was something falling in her face. “Is it not, huh?” Her head shook lightly. “Maybe it is _now_.” The next instant she twirled around, raising her hand against the Doctor.

And he vanished right before her eyes.

“Noo!” Rose screamed in horror, trying to grab the other woman who simply disappeared and reappeared closer to the console. “ _No_ , please _don’t_!”

“You steal something of mine, I steal something of yours, it’s fair, isn’t it?” she offered.

Her words felt so cruel. Rose’s head was clouded with fear and denial, shocked tears pressed against her eyes. She came closer, holding the console. When she had felt weak before, she now felt utterly gutted. The words of the looming prophecy from all these months ago were hitting her with full force, knocking the air out of her lungs. “I’ll tell you where to find it, _please_ don’t! I’ll tell you!”

Nisha’s eyes wandered over her face, realising something. “You know what… I think I like this better.”

“No…” she whispered, shaking frantically her head. _Don’t let it come true, don’t let it come true!_

“I’ll find the planet. One day. It’s tedious but entirely possible.” Satisfaction grew under her mime. “But this is a brilliant lesson not to cross me.”

Determination unfurled in her again. “I’m warning you…”

“About what?” she snorted. “You can barely stand.”

She would leave them. Rose felt it perfectly clear. And she couldn’t let that happen. One moment later, she jumped forwards, grabbing Nisha’s essence just the moment she wanted to vanish. She did it before, she could not slide into her but catch her. She felt the other one stumble and pulling (figuratively). But Rose felt losing her grip. That _mustn’t_ happen. She changed fucking timelines before!

So she let Bad Wolf loose.

And the second she did that, her body hurt like being pierced by hundreds of arrows and she lost all her power. She heard her own scream as she clashed on the TARDIS floor with her hands and knees – and Nisha gone. “ _Nooo!_ ” she screamed on the top of her lungs, cursing herself, and with tears wetting her cheeks. She heard someone call her name, not really aware of it. She had _lost_ her, not being able to hold her for even a little while. She was failing so hard, it knocked every composure out of her.

The Master was grabbing her shoulders, she now recognized his face. “They’re gone, they’re _both_ gone!” she cried, a heavy sob followed her words. Her eyes pressed shut and she felt his arms around her, not sure if he was saying something.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She didn’t know how long she had been crumbled on the floor, bawling her eyes out.

She felt _so_ tired.

Emotionally and physically.

At some point, the Master must have carried her into the library. She was sitting on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes burned and everything ached with every second more. She thought the Master has checked her with some instruments, but he apparently was sitting on the other end of the couch for a while now. He looked into nothingness, brows serious. She acknowledged Liz curled up between them in her small form.

She swallowed so that her dry throat could talk. “I wasn’t able to hold her in the slightest,” she still said with a tiny voice, speechless and incredulous. “I weakened myself so much as I rescued the planet, I couldn’t even …” Her voice failed, and her head shook. “I wish now I hadn’t.”

“Nonsense,” the Master argued, also quietly. “You might think that now, but you don’t really wish it.”

She didn’t know if she could believe him right now. “The prophecy …” she continued shakily. “So ambiguous, so … nebulous. And still, it was somehow all true.” There was a long pause, before she tried to pull herself out, focusing on their further approach. “We need something to see her coming … she can’t appear here like she wishes…”

The other one sighed. “Actually, the Doctor theorised that you _did_ feel her,” he revealed. “Always when you met her, you started to transcend yourself. That’s why the Nisha parasite got into you in the first place. That’s why you could feel her emotions on this wreck. That’s why you were able to pick up _my_ feeling via that dream.” His lips pressed to a line. “The result of her being close to you. You felt it.”

She needed a while to process it all. Her following smile was sad, she was holding back tears again. “That doesn’t make me feel better.” The fact that she should have known made it maybe even worse. “Is it even _possible_ to track him?”

He took a deep breath, turning in her direction. “Yes. But there is no easy or fast way. Finding something that someone else shifted – it’s tricky.” He swallowed at the last bit. “It _could_ take years. Decades even.”

“I need to try,” she whimpered, like this wasn’t even a question. “But I can’t do it alone.” She begged him with her eyes, looking so buggered and worn out. “Will you help me try?”

He wanted to grab reassuringly her hand, but he knew that she physically hurt everywhere. So he tried to smile instead. It was weak, not really there, but hopefully gave her _something_.

“Of course,” he told her softly. “I’ll help you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, there’s obviously a third and last instalment planned^^ When I decided to not let Intertwined end with the Master’s death, this whole plotline with two sequels was planted in my head. I’m not sure I would go through with it the way I do without your support, though <3
> 
> I’m not sure how I’m going to handle it, but the third part isn’t written yet. I usually prefer having written the whole thing before posting it, because there might be a loooong time between two chapters otherwise (also because I’m in the process to publish original work of mine).
> 
> Anyway, thank you sooo much for staying with me, reading and commenting, it’s been a real pleasure, and I’m SO grateful for you! :D As always, let me know your thoughts about this chapter and everything :D


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